Cold protection solution for rice seedlings of farmers in mountainous areas of Nghe An

To make the rice seeds germinate evenly, Anh Son farmers soak and change the warm water regularly. Photo: Thai Hien

Despite the bitter cold, these days in the fields of Ke May village, Cam Son commune, farmers are still rushing to the fields to plant seedlings in time for planting on schedule. Ms. Ha Thi Hien in Ke May village shared that the time to plant seedlings coincided with a severe cold spell, so in order for the rice seeds to germinate, her family used warm water 3 parts boiling, 2 parts cold and a covered styrofoam box to soak the rice. She also regularly changed the warm water to ensure the rice germinated evenly.

According to Ms. Hien’s long-standing experience, when sowing spring rice, you must prepare plastic and bamboo to cover the rice seedlings. The time to cover the seedlings to avoid the cold lasts about 15-20 days. At that time, the seedlings grow well, have high resistance, so the number of seedlings that die from the cold is reduced.

Anh Son farmers make frames and cover seedlings with plastic to protect them from the cold. Photo: Thai Hien

In village 11, Hoa Son commune, although the weather is freezing cold, the atmosphere in the fields is quite busy. Mrs. Ha Thi Thuong said: This spring, her family planted more than 4 sao of NA2 rice variety. In recent days, although the weather is cold, to ensure the crop is completed before Tet, she has started sowing rice.

To cope with the cold weather, Mrs. Thuong built a high bank to prevent water from outside from flooding, and also kept the water in the field to keep the rice seedlings warm, then covered the area with plastic. Hopefully the weather will not greatly affect the growth of the seedlings and the planting can be completed before Tet.

In the spring crop of 2019, Anh Son district planted 3,250 hectares of rice. To achieve success in this year's spring crop production, the district's Department of Agriculture focused on directing localities to arrange a reasonable crop structure for high productivity and quality. In addition, large fields of high-quality pure rice were built, from 5 to 7 fields, each field from 30 to 50 hectares. According to the crop calendar, the whole Anh Son district will sow rice seedlings from January 8 to January 20, 2019; and transplant from January 28 to February 12, 2019.

Use plastic to cover the seedlings. Photo: Thai Hien

To prevent the cold from affecting the growth of seedlings, Anh Son directed localities to propagate to people to apply the measure of covering 100% of the area with plastic, regularly visit the fields to monitor the growth of seedlings. During the time of covering seedlings with plastic, if the outdoor temperature gradually increases > 15 degrees Celsius and there is sunshine at noon, it is necessary to open both ends of the plastic during the day to let the water vapor escape, helping the plants photosynthesize better. If the night is cold, continue to cover with plastic.

In addition, it is necessary to supplement the seedlings with a quantity of rotten manure, wood ash or a small amount of potassium and phosphorus to help the seedlings warm their feet and become stronger, better able to resist the cold. At the same time, the seedling field also needs to be watered at a level of 2 cm to keep it warm. Absolutely do not apply urea or nitrogen-rich foliar fertilizer to the seedlings during these days./.