Summer-Autumn Production Solutions 2013

(Baonghean)The biggest challenge we might face this year's summer-autumn crop season is the severe drought at the beginning of the season and the early onset of floods and storms. In the past few months, rainfall measured in January, February, and March has been low, 70-80 mm below the multi-year average. Meanwhile, water reserves in lakes, dams, rivers, and streams this year are also lower than the multi-year average due to the less abundant rainy season in previous years.

Specifically, according to the Central Meteorological and Hydrological Forecasting Center's announcement on March 25, 2013: The hot season in 2013 arrived earlier than usual. Severe droughts occurred in June and July. Heavy rains and storms appeared earlier than normal. It is predicted that there could be 11-13 typhoons throughout the year, of which 3-5 will directly affect Vietnam. During this year's rainy season, unpredictable extreme weather events such as tornadoes, flash floods, landslides, etc., may occur, requiring precautions.

To ensure this year's summer-autumn crop season avoids natural disasters, guarantees a complete harvest, and yields high productivity, we need to implement the following solutions effectively:

Only short-duration rice varieties should be planted.

Choosing short-duration rice varieties with a growth period of no more than 100 days is best. Typically, the spring rice crop in Nghe An is harvested mainly between May 30th and June 5th each year, after which farmers immediately prepare the land for planting the summer-autumn rice crop. To ensure the summer-autumn rice crop is harvested before September 10th, it is essential to plant rice varieties with a growth period of 100 days or less. If, solely for the sake of achieving high yields like the spring crop, the crop structure uses rice varieties with a growth period of 100 days or more, the level of safety is not high, especially in lowland areas. Short-duration rice varieties include: purebred varieties such as Vat Tu NA2, QR1, RVT, VS1, KD mutant, P6 mutant, PC6…

The group of hybrid rice varieties includes: TH3-3, Viet Lai 20, and Viet Lai 24. The main variety to be used should be TH3-3.

Sow the seeds as early as possible.

Local authorities need to proactively and urgently take all necessary measures to quickly harvest the spring rice crop and immediately sow and plant the summer-autumn crop. This year's summer-autumn crop, in particular, needs to be harvested as early as possible due to the possibility of an earlier arrival of the rainy season, storms, and floods. Therefore, we should not sow rice directly, except for short-day varieties like the P6 mutant, which can be sown directly. Otherwise, seedlings should be sown for transplanting to shorten the growth period of those rice varieties.

If there are no rice paddies available for sowing seedlings, some rice fields can be harvested prematurely to free up land for sowing seedlings, or seedlings can be sown on hard ground or in a nursery bed, which is also fine.

It is best to complete the planting of all rice varieties before June 10th, and there is a good chance we can successfully cultivate the summer-autumn rice crop this year.

Use water wisely and economically.

Rainfall during the rainy season (September, October, and November 2012) was 551mm less than the average. In particular, rainfall in January, February, March, and the first 10 days of April 2013 was 60-70mm lower than the average. Therefore, the water reserves in nearly 80 reservoirs throughout the province are gradually drying up, reaching only 60-70% of their designed capacity. Some reservoirs have even completely dried up, such as Thach Tien reservoir in Hung Yen (Hung Nguyen district) and Ban Giao dam in Dien Lam commune (Dien Chau district)...

Therefore, in order to have enough water to meet the production needs of this year's summer-autumn crop, we need to do the following well:

- Build embankments to retain water in the fields starting now. Absolutely do not drain the water completely from the fields to facilitate harvesting.

- Water management and regulation of irrigation water from reservoirs, rivers, streams, and main canals to rice fields must be done with utmost caution at this time.

- Avoid excessive watering; overwatering is wasteful. Watering just enough to cover the plants or to a depth of 3-5 cm is best.

- Take advantage of the time before harvesting the spring rice crop to carry out dredging of canals and ditches to ensure smooth water flow.

- Close all sluice gates discharging water into the Lam River, Cam River, Bung River, and Hoang Mai River to accumulate freshwater and prevent saltwater intrusion into the rice fields.

- Rice should not be sown during this summer-autumn season to reduce unnecessary water loss, especially in areas irrigated by electric pumps or reservoirs.

- Urgently inspect and completely repair the electrical system and electric pumping stations in areas irrigated by electric pumping stations, and purchase additional diesel pumps and mobile electric pumps as backup in localities likely to be severely affected by drought this summer-autumn crop season.

Invest in intensive farming right from the start.

The basic characteristic of the summer-autumn rice crop is the planting of short-duration rice varieties, with growth and development occurring during the hot, dry season. Therefore, to achieve the highest yield, it is necessary to invest heavily in fertilizers, primarily base fertilization. Try to apply as much manure as possible. For chemical fertilizers, on average, each sao (500m2) should be base-fertilized before transplanting with 25-30 kg of NPK 8.10.3 or 13-15 kg of NPK 16.16.8. After fertilization, harrow the land 1-2 times to bury the fertilizer deep before transplanting the rice. This helps reduce fertilizer loss due to high evaporation from the hot sun and potential waterlogging from heavy rain. 8-10 days after transplanting, apply early topdressing to encourage early tillering and rapid completion of tillering. This topdressing should include 10-12 kg of NPK 15.5.20 or 5-6 kg of Urea and 2-3 kg of Potassium. When the rice plants are in the tillering stage, apply another 5-7 kg of NPK 15.5.20 or 2-3 kg of urea nitrogen + 2-3 kg of potassium.

Investing heavily in fertilizers, applying sufficient and balanced amounts, and concentrating on heavy application will give us high rice yields, significantly reduce pest and disease problems, and improve lodging resistance during the rainy and stormy season.

Doan Tri Tue