Over the past few days, across several pineapple fields in Mường Nhà commune, many households could not help but worry as they witnessed their labor achievements affected by the scorching heat. In Phì Cao village, Sìn Thị Lôm still felt deep regret when many of her family’s pineapples, which were about to enter harvest time, were scorched due to the extreme weather.

Walking along the rows of pineapples owned by Sìn Thị Lôm’s family, it was easy to see many fruits with yellow scorched patches on their skin. Some plants showed signs of yellowing leaves and reduced growth capacity compared to previous years. Currently, Sìn Thị Lôm’s family cultivates around 4,000 to 5,000m² of honey pineapples, which has been their main income source, contributing to daily living expenses and economic development for many years. However, the recent peak heatwave degraded the quality of many pineapples, leading to a sharp drop in selling prices.

According to Sìn Thị Lôm, beautiful, standard-compliant pineapples fetch a price of VND 8,000 to 12,000/kg. However, for sunscalded fruits, the selling price drops to only about VND 3,000 to 4,000/kg. This substantial price gap directly hit her family’s income, while the investment and care efforts remained unchanged.

Sìn Thị Lôm shared: “In previous years, fruit sunscald still occurred but not as extensively as this year. The recent heatwave lasted for many consecutive days, so the number of affected fruits was higher. Fruits near harvest that get scorched look unattractive and cannot fetch a good price. Even if a fruit is only partially scorched, buyers still dislike it because it does not look appealing. Not only her family but most pineapple-growing households in the area faced a similar situation. Although the level of damage varied from house to house, the drop in product quality significantly affected the villagers’ income.”

Pineapple-growing regions across Mường Nhà commune all recorded sunscalded pineapples during the recent extreme weather drive. Certain pineapple areas under the Pu Lau Honey Pineapple Cooperative in Mường Nhà commune also recorded specific damages after the heatwave. Among them, the sunscald phenomenon mainly appeared in long-term cultivation areas or on tilted, fallen pineapple plants. When the pineapple fruit is no longer covered by the foliage canopy and must directly expose itself to intense sunlight for a long duration, surface sunscald easily occurs.

Thảo A Giàng, Director of the Pu Lau Honey Pineapple Cooperative, stated that the cooperative currently has 22 member households participating in production with a total area of 30 ha of honey pineapples. Among these, some long-term fields have sparser plants, making them prone to falling over. When the pineapple is tilted and direct sunlight strikes it for a long period, fruit burning occurs. Conversely, straight-standing trees with good canopy coverage are less affected.

According to Thảo A Giàng, the reason why sunscald appeared more extensively this year also lies in the erratic weather developments. Following rains, the sudden spike in temperature increased the risk of fruit sunscald across many pineapple fields.

“If the heat is prolonged but stable, pineapple plants are less affected,” Thảo A Giàng noted. “However, this year the weather changed continuously, with rain followed immediately by intense sunlight, causing the rate of scorched fruits to rise. This is also something many households have not yet adapted to.”

Through reviews, the Pu Lau Honey Pineapple Cooperative estimated that the rate of fruits affected by heat this year accounted for about 5% to 7% of the total area. Although the damaged area is not high, it directly hits the quality and commercial value of the products. Thảo A Giàng added that scorched fruits can still be used for fresh eating or juice processing. However, due to the unattractive appearance, the selling price drops significantly. There are fruits that should have been classified as large size with a high price, but when scorched, they have to be sold as small size or at a much lower price.

Currently, Mường Nhà commune has nearly 300 ha of honey pineapples across 28 out of 28 villages. In recent years, the pineapple plant has become a key crop, bringing a stable income source for many households. From low-efficiency upland production areas, residents boldly converted to pineapple cultivation, step-by-step forming concentrated commodity production zones, contributing to improving living standards and boosting the local economy.

Faced with increasingly abnormal weather developments, residents hope to continue receiving attention and support from specialized agencies in providing guidance on care techniques, heat prevention, and minimizing the impacts of extreme weather on crops. Concurrently, researching and transferring climate-smart production solutions to elevate the resilience of pineapple plants is also an essential requirement in the current period. Upgrading climate change adaptation capacity will not only help protect production efficiency and raise product value but also contribute to improving residents’ lives, heading toward sustainable agricultural development in the coming years.