Focus on spring rice harvest

Harvest the rice as it ripens.

At this time, the main rice crop area has entered the solid stage. In some localities where rice is sown early such as Son Duong, Chiem Hoa, Lam Binh, the rice has ripened. People are taking advantage of the sunny weather to urgently harvest the ripe rice, limiting losses if natural disasters occur.

People of Yen Nguyen commune (Chiem Hoa) harvest spring rice.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dau, Goc Lat village, Chi Thiet commune (Son Duong) shared that the thunderstorms at the end of April and the beginning of May greatly affected the rice area of the village, including his family. According to Mr. Dau, this spring crop, his family planted more than 2 hectares, right at the time when the weather was likely to be stormy. The rain on April 30 caused many fields to collapse, limiting losses, so he had to erect them. Fortunately, as soon as the thunderstorm passed, the sky cleared up and the rice ripened quickly. As soon as the rice ripened, the family rented a harvester, and for the areas where the machine could not be used, the family exchanged labor to harvest by hand. After harvesting for 3 consecutive days, more than 2 hectares of rice fields were harvested. This year's harvest was a bit difficult, but in return, the yield was still guaranteed, estimated at about 2 - 2.2 quintals/sao, slightly higher than the spring crop in 2023, Mr. Dau happily shared.

Mr. Nguyen Dang Khoa, an agricultural extension officer at the Son Duong District Agricultural Service Center, in charge of the commune, said that in the 2024 spring crop, Chi Thiet commune planted 150 hectares, exceeding the plan by 10%. The thunderstorms in late April and early May caused many rice fields to collapse and flood. To protect rice productivity and output, the unit coordinated with the commune to urge people to clear the flow and drainage canal system; prevent collapsed areas and regularly visit the fields to monitor and harvest the rice as soon as it is ripe to minimize losses caused by natural disasters. Up to this point, 85% of the spring rice area of Chi Thiet commune has been harvested, with an estimated yield of 61 quintals/ha, slightly higher than the 2023 spring crop.

In Hung My, Tan Thinh, Yen Nguyen, Hoa Phu (Chiem Hoa); Tho Binh (Lam Binh), the spring rice harvest is quite bustling, the rice fields are heavy with flowers, the leaves are still green but people still harvest urgently. This spring crop, Hung My commune (Chiem Hoa) planted over 150 hectares of rice, according to people's feedback, the rice has few pests and diseases, only some areas are locally damaged. Through inspection and assessment of the commune, the average yield of the whole commune is estimated at 62 quintals/ha. Many households in the commune have proactively used combine harvesters to harvest rice, ensuring the progress of the crop production.

According to the assessment of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, this year's spring rice crop yield in the whole province will increase, because this year's water source is relatively favorable, the rice plants grow and develop healthily, the rice flowers bloom evenly, the panicles are firm, only a few areas are flattened, causing difficulties in the harvesting process.

Unable to rent a machine, people in Cay Lat village, Chi Thiet commune (Son Duong) use a grass cutter to harvest rice to speed up the harvest and limit losses if it rains.

Preparing for crop production

In parallel with the main tea harvest, the Department of Agriculture has asked localities to urge people to visit the fields to monitor the late tea area, prevent and control pests and diseases to protect rice productivity and output. According to Mr. Tran Ngoc Thanh, Head of the Technical Department, Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection of the province, about 7,000 - 8,000 hectares of late tea are in the process of heading and blooming, people need to regularly visit the fields, keep the surface water of the fields to ensure enough water for the rice plants to limit the impact of the heat; closely monitor the weather and pests in the fields, forecasts from specialized agencies to direct timely prevention and control, not allowing pests and diseases to spread widely. Pay attention to pests and diseases on rice such as: neck blast, leaf blight, brown planthopper, white-backed planthopper... Besides, strictly follow the requirements of the industry, harvest the rice as soon as it is ripe, because this year's weather is very complicated, with continuous thunderstorms, the risk of loss is very high.

Focusing on spring rice harvest, localities also urged people to quickly proceed with land preparation and prepare enough fertilizers for crop production, especially localities with a tradition of growing the third crop.

Recommendations from agricultural engineers are that the time between spring and summer crops is short, so people should prepare the land carefully, especially in flooded areas to eradicate pests and diseases; based on the characteristics and production conditions of each locality and region to apply sowing and transplanting techniques suitable for the soil quality, and choose rice varieties in the province's seed structure. In areas where weedy rice (also known as ghost rice) has appeared such as Yen Son and Son Duong, people need to switch from direct sowing to transplanting to effectively control and eradicate weedy rice. For single-crop rice fields that cannot be controlled by irrigation water, switch to other crops.

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