Song Con Sugarcane Company: Focus on preventing sugarcane pests and diseases

Agricultural staff of Song Con Sugarcane Joint Stock Company check for pests on sugarcane. Photo: Xuan Hoang

At this time, the sugarcane growing area in Tan Ky district is in the stage of branching and growing in height. At the same time, farmers are actively weeding, fertilizing and preventing pests and diseases for sugarcane.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhu in Long Tho hamlet, Giai Xuan commune is actively weeding sugarcane, saying: The family has an area of ​​1.4 hectares of sugarcane, of which 9 sao of sugarcane are newly planted with KK3 variety, the remaining 5 sao are sugarcane with stumps. KK3 sugarcane has the advantage of strong tillering, healthy plants, and will likely yield higher yields than other sugarcane varieties that the family has grown before. Because the family has few people, the couple took advantage of the time to rent a machine to clear the furrows for the 5 sao of sugarcane with stumps to apply NPK fertilizer. As for the 9 sao of newly planted sugarcane, because the sugarcane grows strongly, the leaves are thick, it is impossible to plow the furrows, so after cleaning the grass, fertilizer is applied directly to the sugarcane roots. Also during this time, the couple regularly visits the field, paying attention to the leaf sheaths of the sugarcane, if they detect white cotton fiber aphids, they handle it by cutting off the sugarcane leaves and burning them.

During the sugarcane growing process, Ms. Nhu's family was provided with seeds, fertilizers and other materials by Song Con Sugarcane Joint Stock Company in a timely manner, so her family's sugarcane field was planted on time, developed well, and is expected to harvest about 45 - 50 tons of sugarcane by the end of the year.

Mr. Nguyen Cong Phu - Head of Raw Material Station No. 1 (Song Con Sugarcane Joint Stock Company), in Giai Xuan commune, said: The station currently has 13 agricultural officers, in charge of sugarcane raw material areas in 7 communes: Giai Xuan, Tan Hop, Tan Xuan, Tan Phu, Nghia Thai, Nghia Dong and Nghia Hop. Each agricultural officer is assigned to be in charge of a specific area. Accordingly, from land preparation to harvest, agricultural officers are responsible for urging, guiding and monitoring the progress of planting and caring for sugarcane of each family. Therefore, during the sugarcane harvest, agricultural officers have a firm grasp of the age of each sugarcane clump to issue appropriate sugarcane harvesting orders. Mr. Phu added: Currently, the station's agricultural officers regularly stay in the fields, in addition to urging people to care for sugarcane, they also guide people on how to detect and treat planthoppers. Every day, agricultural officers go to the sugarcane fields, together with people to observe the situation of planthoppers and other pests. If white cotton fiber aphids are detected, they must be treated immediately. With low aphids density, they must be treated manually. With high density, the Company will provide pesticides for farmers to spray.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhu, Long Tho hamlet, Giai Xuan commune (Tan Ky) takes care of sugarcane. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Deputy Director of Song Con Sugarcane Joint Stock Company, Mr. Nguyen Ba Quy said: At this time, the company is focusing on mobilizing a team of agricultural staff to stay close to the fields to plan and forecast the situation of pests and diseases on sugarcane, and at the same time guide farmers to take care of sugarcane according to technical procedures.

Meanwhile, grass shoot disease on sugarcane is currently well controlled.

White cotton aphids appear on sugarcane raw material areas in Tan Ky district. Photo: Xuan Hoang

White cotton aphids often cause damage to sugarcane all year round, most seriously from July to February of the following year. When sugarcane is found to be infected with aphids, farmers must strip leaves, clean the fields and use Anbom 40EC or Anbom 48EC to spray. In case of aphids occurring on a large scale, spraying must be done simultaneously throughout the area.