Con Cuong, Anh Son: Winter corn has been "standing" for more than 5 months without being harvested?

(Baonghean) - Winter corn has been a "salvation" against hunger and crop failure for farmers in Con Cuong and Anh Son for many years. According to the season, after Tet, people start harvesting winter corn. But this year, more than a month has passed, and corn in these localities has not been harvested yet.

It is known that due to the cold, dry and cloudy weather, there were very few sunny days, which affected the growth and development cycle of this year's winter corn crop. According to Mr. Nguyen Van Thang - Vice Chairman of Bong Khe commune, this winter crop, Bong Khe commune planted 175 hectares of corn in Vinh Hoan, 2/9, Thanh Nam, Thanh Dao villages. The entire winter corn area of ​​this year in the commune has not yet ripened; according to the spring corn planting season, it was 1.5 months late. The slow ripening of winter corn has affected the next crop and the yield is also very low. Mr. Thang added: The winter corn yield of 2/9 village just harvested only reached 50 quintals/ha, half the yield of the 2012 winter crop (last year, the winter corn yield of 2/9 village reached 90 quintals/ha); the expected winter corn yield of the entire Bong Khe commune is estimated to reach 40 - 45 quintals/ha.

Corn field in Lien Tan village (Bong Khe commune).

Mr. Nguyen Van Trung - Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Con Cuong district said that nearly 1,200 hectares of winter corn in the whole district have not yet ripened for harvest after more than a month, and the estimated yield is 35-40 quintals/ha, much lower than last year's winter crop.

We directly visited the corn field in Lien Tan village, Bong Khe commune, it has been more than 5 months but the corn is still green. In the previous crop, this hybrid corn variety had 2 big ears per plant, this year most of it only had 1 small ear. When peeling the corn husk, the corn kernels were still milky, if there is sunshine, it will take nearly 1 month to harvest. In the previous crop, at this time, the corn plants were as big as a person's head, but now the plants are short, you have to bend down to pick the ears.

It is known that in Con Cuong district alone, thousands of hectares of winter corn in Tam Son, Dinh Son, Cam Son communes of Anh Son district are more than 5 months old but not yet ripe for harvest, leading to just past the spring corn production period, and the yield has also decreased significantly due to the grain not being plump, the flower being small, and the corn plants growing poorly. A careful analysis of the cause is that this year is affected by cold and drought, the sunshine is too little, the total heat accumulation does not ensure the corn plants can photosynthesize to grow and develop. On the other hand, due to the cold and drought, the rivers, streams, and dams have dried up, so the groundwater level in the soil has decreased, the soil moisture has decreased, and the corn plants cannot absorb groundwater in the soil to nourish the plants.

The winter corn crop has low yield and affects the spring corn production schedule, so after Tet, some people boldly cut it down to plant a new crop. However, the spring corn crop is also affected by dry weather and little sunlight, affecting photosynthesis, causing the corn plants to grow slowly. In some places such as Dinh Son, Cam Son... people cut down fresh corn plants and sell them to Nghia Dan Dairy Factory at 700,000 VND/ton of fresh corn plants to develop the production of other crops.

Thus, to have successful corn crops, in addition to weather and climate factors, the problem of irrigation for corn is being raised. Corn is very afraid of waterlogging but very thirsty for water, especially during the flowering and pollen release period. If the temperature and humidity are not guaranteed, it will easily fail the crop, and this winter crop is an example.

Article and photos:Phung Van Mui