Selecting plant varieties and adjusting planting times to suit climate change

(Baonghean) - In recent years, climate change has increased extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, severe cold, etc., causing many disadvantages for agricultural production. Therefore, many localities in the province have introduced new varieties into production and found farming models to adapt to changes in the weather.

Hamlet 8, Hung Tan Commune (Hung Nguyen) has 32 hectares of 2-rice land, of which 2/3 is low-lying area. Previously, corn and sweet potatoes were commonly grown in the 3rd crop, but due to the low-lying land, they were often flooded for long periods during the rainy season, combined with heavy loam soil, so the economic efficiency was not high, and there were years when they lost everything. From 2010 to now, farmers have boldly converted, put green squash into production in the 3rd crop and gradually expanded the area to replace the above 2 crops. Mr. Nguyen Trong Chuong, in Hamlet 8, said: Currently, my family has contracted 18 sao, each year planting 2 rice crops and 1 green squash crop on an area of ​​1.5 sao. Around the beginning of September, we make pots for squash plants in our garden, with a net to protect the seedlings. The work of plowing the land, adding fertilizer, making beds and bringing seeds to the field for planting is always carefully taken care of. The process from planting seeds to harvesting only takes 2.5 months, the yield reaches 7 quintals/sao. The products are purchased by traders at the field at a price of 4,000 - 6,000 VND/kg, my family has an income of nearly 6 million VND, after deducting expenses, the net profit is 4 million/sao, 6 - 7 times higher than growing corn and potatoes before.

Model of growing squash on double-rice land in Hung Tan commune (Hung Nguyen).

From the economic efficiency of green squash, hamlet 8 has focused on land transfer, improving from high fields to low fields; mobilizing people to contribute 300,000 VND/sao/household for 3 consecutive years to upgrade and improve irrigation, so investment and intensive farming are more favorable. Green squash has been converted from the model to commodity production, increasing the area from 1 ha in 2010 to 6 ha in 2014. Currently, the whole hamlet has 50/103 households producing according to the model of 2 rice crops plus 1 green squash crop; the harvest output is about 35 tons/year. The model of converting to growing squash on 2-rice land has been visited and studied by many communes in the district... Mr. Nguyen Trong Thuc - Chairman of the People's Committee of Hung Tan commune said: "Due to the low-lying terrain of the commune, the Resolution of the Party Committee and People's Council of the commune, term XXI, 2010 - 2015, has clearly determined to make winter crops the main crop, in which the main crop is green squash grown on the rice land; especially on 2-rice land. This winter crop, the whole commune planted 15 hectares of 3-season green squash on rice land, mainly in hamlets 4, 5, 6, 8, 9. To ensure crop productivity, the commune directed people to quickly demarcate the area, prepare the land, cover with straw to avoid rain erosion after harvesting the summer rice; wait for stable weather before bringing the seedlings to the fields. And to encourage the movement, the commune has a policy of supporting 70% of the price of squash seeds, any hamlet that reaches 4 hectares of 3-season squash on rice land will be supported with 100% of the planting cost. Crop In spring 2014, the district also provided support of 250,000 - 300,000 VND/sao of squash to make trellises, seeds and plastic pots.

Thanh Khai commune is located in the lower part of Thanh Chuong district, with the altitude gradually decreasing towards Lam river, so from the end of August to the beginning of November DL, most of the production land is flooded. In previous years, the summer-autumn crop of the commune mainly consisted of Khang Dan 18 rice varieties and 352 glutinous rice (growing period from 100 - 105 days), but after many crops, it "lost its food" due to early flooding. Faced with this situation, the Party Committee and People's Committee of the commune decided to find short-term varieties and had to allocate time, select varieties and adjust the season right from the spring crop to harvest before May 20 and by June 30, the summer-autumn crop had to be completed. In the summer-autumn crop of 2012, the commune introduced the extremely short-term mutant P6 rice variety (growing period of about 85 days) into production. In the summer-autumn crop of 2014, the whole commune planted more than 40 hectares of mutant P6; Although this variety does not have high yield, it meets the requirements of "running" from floods; after August 15, people will basically harvest all the summer-autumn rice.

Regarding the issue of variety selection, Mr. Nguyen Huu Son - Head of Hung Thinh Hamlet (Thanh Khai) shared: In the past, our ancestors had a saying "first water, second fertilizer, third diligence, fourth variety", but now we see that variety selection is more important. In 2012, the first summer-autumn crop produced the mutant P6 variety. After only 15 days of planting, there was a drought, followed by a long-term flood, I thought I had lost all 3 sao. But after the water receded, the rice recovered very quickly, with an average yield of 1.8 quintals/sao. In the following seasons, this rice variety all reached 2.2 - 2.4 quintals/sao. The mutant P6 variety has a growing period about 20 days shorter than the Khang Dan variety, has the ability to resist lodging, withstand cold and drought well, suitable for intensive farming. In particular, this variety has delicious rice, and a short growing period, so the straw can be harvested neatly. Here, the value of straw is also equivalent to that of rice grains, because people have a tradition of raising cattle for breeding. The whole hamlet has 147 households, most of whom raise an average of 2-3 cattle.

In Nghi Loc district, more than 12,000 hectares of agricultural land are divided into 3 cultivation areas: agricultural area, agricultural area and semi-mountainous area. Of which, only about 5,000 hectares of production land have temporary irrigation water, but still depend heavily on the Nam Dan bara system; the remaining 6,000 hectares are completely "depending on the sky". Therefore, every year, Nghi Loc must select and shift the crop structure to suit each type of soil and climate. To adjust the crop calendar appropriately, avoid early floods, small-season floods and main-season floods in low-lying areas, in the past 3 years, Nghi Loc has introduced lodging-resistant rice varieties, short- and extremely short-term varieties (growing period from 80 - 90 days) with good rice quality to serve the market such as P6DB, Nhi Uu 838, QR1, DT 68...; drought-resistant and suitable varieties for fertile soil such as BTE1 rice variety (tested since the 2011 summer-autumn crop in Nghi Thai commune on an area of ​​3 hectares); in the 2014 summer-autumn crop, the area has been expanded to about 150 hectares in the whole district. Currently, the district is continuing to cooperate with enterprises to test some new varieties such as Thien Uu, AD1, RVT to have a scientific basis and accurate conclusions about the ability to resist pests and diseases, and the yield potential to replace old varieties when there are signs of degeneration.

The direct impact of climate change on agricultural production in Nghe An is the scarcity of irrigation water in the winter-spring crop, and irregular rains and floods. Therefore, drawing on experience in production to adjust crop seasons appropriately will help minimize damage caused by natural disasters and improve farmers' lives. In recent years, many localities have proactively selected crop varieties that are suitable for changes in the weather and bring high economic efficiency. This is a sustainable farming direction that needs to be encouraged for people to promote well. At the same time, local authorities need to actively implement support activities such as building agricultural product brands, finding markets, transferring science and technology... so that people can feel secure in production, increase income and contribute to the successful construction of the new rural program. Mr. Nguyen Van Lap - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said: Climate change has been and is clearly affecting production and life. In order to arrange a suitable crop structure, each locality must review soil and water conditions; have specific plans for each field regarding crop types, conversion seasons, etc. and must be discussed and agreed upon by the people. At the same time, when converting, it is necessary to prepare sufficient supplies and seedlings according to the plan; provide guidance on planting and care techniques for the people, thus bringing high economic efficiency.

Ngoc Anh