Lab-grown varieties boost Dong Thap lotus resilience

Diseases and varietal degeneration put lotus growers in a difficult position

Across lotus fields in Dong Thap, the atmosphere of production has become quieter than before. Instead of being busy harvesting, many farmers now face the worry of poor harvests as diseases spread and varieties degenerate.

According to the Dong Thap agriculture sector, the province currently maintains 1,400-1,500 hectares of lotus growing, concentrated in Thap Muoi, Thanh Binh, Tam Nong, and My Quy communes. Although the lotus remains a key crop, its economic efficiency has declined markedly.

In Phuong Thinh commune, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Thanh, a long-time lotus grower, said that in the past, farmers were mainly concerned about output. Meanwhile, they now worry right from the start of the planting season. Lotus plants are no longer as lush as before; instead, they have become much weaker, with diseases such as rhizome rot increasingly appearing in lotus fields. In some seasons, his family has suffered near-total losses due to disease, despite significant spending on fertilizers and pesticides that ultimately failed to save the crop.

According to Mr. Thanh, the primary cause is the long-standing practice of reusing old varieties for many years. Farmers tend to source seeds from their own fields for convenience and cost savings. However, this repeated practice leads to varietal degeneration and the accumulation of pathogens, making crops increasingly susceptible to disease and resulting in poor yields.

In reality, when variety already carries pathogens, no amount of pesticide application or fertilizer use can provide more than a temporary solution. Not only do production costs rise, but the overuse of agrochemicals also poses potential risks to the environment and the quality of agricultural products.

According to experts, the biggest challenge of the lotus sector today does not lie in the market but in the seed quality. When crops are weakened at the root, all cultivation efforts struggle to achieve sustainable effectiveness.

Mr. Trinh Phuoc Nguyen, Deputy Director of the Climate Change Institute at An Giang University, said that traditional propagation methods allow pathogens to accumulate over multiple generations. This is the main reason why lotus plants are becoming increasingly weak and more susceptible to diseases. Without addressing the root cause, the situation will persist.

According to Mr. Nguyen, tissue culture technology is the fundamental solution. Currently, the Climate Change Institute has selected the best mother plants and propagates them under sterile conditions. The generated seedlings are uniform, disease-free, and exhibit superior growth performance. In addition to helping control diseases, this technology enables large-scale, proactive seed supply, meeting the demands of commodity production.

Tissue culture: Key to rebuilding a sustainable lotus-growing region

To gradually address the seed bottleneck, in 2026 the Dong Thap Lotus Industry Association coordinated with cooperatives across the province to implement a tissue-culture lotus-growing model on approximately 5–6 hectares.

Mr. Ngo Hung Vu, Deputy Director of Kim Phat High-Tech Agricultural Cooperative (An Thanh Thuy commune, Dong Thap province), said that the cooperative has gained experience and achieved success with various crops using tissue culture propagation. Previously, pineapple and banana also suffered severe disease outbreaks due to varietal degeneration. After switching to tissue culture varieties, yields increased significantly, production costs declined, and product quality improved markedly.

Based on this experience, Mr. Vu believes that lotus can completely follow a similar path. "We are coordinating to implement the demonstration model of tissue culture lotus so that farmers can directly observe the model’s efficiency. Once the benefits are clear, farmers will be more confident in making the transition. Pilot models will be established in areas heavily affected by diseases to assess adaptability and economic efficiency before scaling up," Mr. Vu said.

According to Mr. Ngo Chi Cong, Chairman of the Dong Thap Lotus Industry Association, variety renewal is a prerequisite for restructuring the lotus sector. "Sustainable development is not possible if we continue relying on old varieties and merely coping with diseases. Disease-free varieties will provide the foundation for developing standardized raw material zones for lotus seeds and rhizomes, serving processing and export," Mr. Cong said.

According to Dong Thap province's orientation, lotus will no longer be limited to raw products such as seeds, rhizomes, stems, flowers, and leaves. Instead, the entire lotus plant will be developed along a value chain, combined with deep processing and ecotourism. Models such as lotus–pineapple, lotus–fish, and lotus-growing areas associated with planting area codes are currently being studied and implemented.

"Although many challenges remain, particularly initial investment costs and the need to change traditional cultivation practices in Dong Thap province, the application of high technology in lotus propagation is an inevitable pathway for developing the lotus sector sustainably and building the lotus brand in both domestic and international markets," said Mr. Ngo Chi Cong, Chairman of the Dong Thap Lotus Industry Association.