The danger from regenerating rice fields

(Baonghean.vn) - Regenerating rice (rice straw) is considered a dangerous "disease nest" that harms rice plants, but in Nghe An, this area still reaches thousands of hectares, despite the recommendations of the authorities.

Short growing period, from 50 - 55 days, no need to rush in land preparation and avoiding floods are the immediate benefits of letting rice regenerate. However, while the yield is only 1/4 - 1/3 compared to normal rice production, the danger from these rice fields is very large.

Not only does it easily cause soil degradation, but also because the rice plants are left in the fields for too long (5 months) through two crops without tilling and treating the soil, this is an ideal environment for pests to survive and develop, a "bridge" for pathogens to reside and cause damage to the next crop, especially rats, insects and brown planthoppers.

Regenerating rice fields are not ready for harvest in Khanh Son commune, Nam Dan. Photo: Phu Huong

However, despite warnings and some localities even taking strong measures to prevent it, the area of ​​rice with brown spots still reaches thousands of hectares, concentrated in Nam Dan, Thanh Chuong, Nghi Loc districts...

Along the 5 southern lowland communes of Nam Dan district, the area of ​​​​rice straw spreads over many fields. The fields with a yield of several dozen kg/sao were harvested nearly a month ago, but it is not uncommon for rice fields to still have sparse flowers, and people do not bother to harvest because of the low yield.

According to Mr. Ho Dinh Thang - Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture of Nam Dan district, the locality has nearly 1,000 hectares of land in low-lying areas. Since 2011, summer-autumn rice production has decreased in many communes, even abandoned without planting, the area of ​​regenerated rice has increased sharply, especially in the communes of the 5 southern regions such as Nam Trung, Nam Phuc, Nam Cuong, Nam Kim and the Bau Non Nam Anh, Xuan Hoa, Nam Thanh and Van Dien areas.

The regenerated rice in Thanh Linh and Thanh Chuong has quite beautiful flowers but many of the grains are empty and do not ripen evenly, with a yield of only 50-70 kg/sao. Photo: Phu Huong

Faced with that situation, along with promoting propaganda, Nam Dan district has had a support mechanism to introduce short-term rice varieties such as improved Khang Dan, mutant P6, VS181. After only two years, the area of ​​regenerated rice has been reduced by over 500 hectares.

In Thanh Chuong, the area of ​​regenerated rice in the district is quite large, many communes such as Thanh Linh and Thanh Duong have up to 45-50 hectares, accounting for nearly half of the commune's summer-autumn production land.

Mr. Le Dinh Thanh - Vice Chairman of the District People's Committee said: Although not recommended, in some communes, people still let rice regenerate due to lack of labor, or in some areas prone to flooding, summer-autumn rice cannot be grown. "The district's guiding viewpoint is that in flooded areas where summer-autumn rice cannot be grown, after harvesting the spring crop, plowing is carried out to increase soil fertility and at the same time limit the possibility of transmitting pests and diseases to the next crop, instead of letting rice regenerate," Mr. Thanh emphasized.

Harvesting regenerated rice in Thanh Linh commune, Thanh Chuong. Photo: Phu Huong

According to Mr. Nguyen Tien Duc - Head of the Provincial Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, allowing spring rice to regenerate will have many harmful effects, low productivity, more pests and diseases, and more danger, which is the source of spreading pests and diseases to the next crop. According to actual calculations, after deducting costs, one hectare of regenerated rice only earns 6.5 million VND, while if using short-term varieties for summer-autumn cultivation, that number is over 15 million VND/ha. In deep, low-lying areas that cannot be cultivated, plowing should be carried out after the spring harvest to increase soil fertility as well as eliminate pathogens in the fields, not allowing regenerated rice to cause many harmful effects./.

Phu Huong