With the Lunar New Year celebrations ending early, farmers head to the fields to tend to their spring rice crop.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hue, a farmer from Hamlet 1, Vinh Thanh Commune (Yen Thanh District), prepares fertilizer for her rice crop. Photo: Xuan Hoang

The warm, sunny weather in recent days has caused the spring rice crop to grow rapidly. Therefore, farmers in Yen Thanh, Nam Dan, Dien Chau, Nghi Loc districts, etc., had to end their Tet holiday early to go to the fields to thin out and care for the rice plants from the afternoon of the 3rd and 4th day of Tet.

In the fields, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hue, a farmer from Hamlet 1, Vinh Thanh Commune (Yen Thanh District), said: This spring, her family planted 8 sao (approximately 0.8 hectares) of rice. Right after the Lunar New Year, she and her husband took advantage of the warm weather to go to the fields, weed, and apply nitrogen fertilizer. For shallow fields, she applied 8 kg of nitrogen per sao, and for deep fields, she applied 6 kg of nitrogen per sao.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai, a farmer from Hamlet 7, Khanh Thanh Commune (Yen Thanh District), said: "This year's spring rice planting finished on January 20th, and the sunny weather has helped the rice grow quickly. Therefore, right after the Lunar New Year, I went to the field to clear the weeds from the embankments, thin out the seedlings, and weed the rice plants before applying nitrogen fertilizer to encourage timely tillering."

Farmers in Nam Dan district also went to the fields from the third day of Tet to take care of their rice crops. Photo: Quang An

Besides rice, farmers in Nghi Loc, Dien Chau, and other localities are also actively tending to their spring peanut crops right from the first days of the new year. Households must promptly remove the plastic coverings to prevent the peanut seedlings from wilting and dying in the sun.

Farmers are worried that the prolonged hot weather will affect the growth of the spring peanut crop. Photo: Quang An

Mr. Nguyen Tien Duc, Head of the Crop Production and Plant Protection Sub-Department, advised: Farmers should focus on caring for the spring rice crop by weeding, tilling, and applying fertilizer in a concentrated manner, avoiding scattered fertilization, in order to limit ineffective tillering. For vegetables, peanuts, and corn, farmers should sow the remaining areas when the weather is favorable to ensure timely planting, especially for peanuts, removing the plastic covering from the rows to allow the peanut plants to develop.

Local authorities need to focus on rodent control to protect spring crops, using methods such as clearing bushes, employing traditional rat traps, and using biological rat poison.