Some notes on summer-autumn crop production 2015

(Baonghean) - Summer-autumn crop production accounts for nearly 30% of the province's annual food production. For the summer-autumn crop to be successful, it requires that planting is done on time, the weather is not too dry, pests and diseases are well managed, and the harvest does not encounter heavy rain and strong winds. After checking the situation in localities and monitoring weather forecasts, from a professional perspective, we see that in order to implement this year's summer-autumn crop, it is necessary to identify and evaluate the following advantages and disadvantages:

Regarding advantages, the 2015 spring crop was harvested 7-10 days earlier than previous spring crops, which is a basic advantage for early summer-autumn crop planting to ensure the season. Regarding difficulties, according to the inspection and report of the Irrigation Department after review, the water source at lakes, dams and at the main works is currently lower than the design and lower than in 2014.

According to the forecast of the Hydrometeorological Agency, the possibility of this summer-autumn crop (from March to August) is that the rainfall in Nghe An will be lower than the average of many years. From the end of March to the beginning of August 2015, the flow on most rivers will continue to decrease and will be lower than the average of many years from 30 - 60%, in some places even lower. Currently, the water level in the dams in Thai Hoa town is only 55 - 60%, in Nghia Dan it is 30%, in Nghi Loc it is 30% compared to the design. Therefore, the risk of drought in the province is real.

Another difficulty is the appearance of many pests and diseases, especially stem borers, brown planthoppers, late-season leaf blight, leaf rollers, rats, etc. The flood and storm season in the province usually occurs after September 10 every year until early November when it gradually decreases. Therefore, arranging the seed structure, sowing early to harvest before the rainy and stormy season, around August 30 (the whole province has 20,000 hectares that must be harvested early) is decisive for the success of the summer-autumn rice crop. From the above difficulties and challenges, to ensure safe and successful summer-autumn crop production, we need to pay attention to the following issues:

The first:Use rice varieties for the summer-autumn crop with the motto of safe harvesting before the rainy and flood season occurs. The whole province has a low-lying rice production area of ​​over 20,000 hectares, mainly concentrated in the districts of Hung Nguyen, Nam Dan, Nghi Loc, Do Luong, Thanh Chuong, Yen Thanh, with the requirement of safe production being the top priority, and must be harvested before August 30. Thus, it is mandatory to use varieties with short growing times for purebred rice such as: PC6, glutinous rice 352, RVT, SL9, VS1; for hybrid rice, use varieties such as: LC 270, TH 3-5, VL 20, VL 24 and especially prioritize extremely short varieties (mutated P6), to ensure productivity, it is necessary to use young seedlings, fertilizers need to be prioritized and applied more at the beginning of the crop.

In the lowland (land with little flooding) but when it rains heavily, it is necessary to ensure harvesting before September 10. This area can arrange a group of varieties with a longer growing period to exploit productivity but the requirement is no more than 110 days specifically for pure rice such as: Thien Uu 8, HT, Vat Tu NA2...; hybrid rice such as TH 3-3, Kinh So Uu 1588. Based on the above orientation of the variety set for production areas, farmers should choose which rice variety for their rice fields, depending on the actual situation of how many crops that variety has been produced, its yield and quality? Is it suitable for the land of their fields? Is it suitable for their investment capacity?... to decide on the variety to produce.

Monday:We need to proactively harvest spring rice, prepare the land and immediately plant summer-autumn rice to take advantage of the season. We should not sow directly in the summer-autumn crop because direct sowing will cause water waste (because direct sowing requires draining the water to sow), while we need to save water to prevent drought; direct sowing does not ensure density, some places are thick, some are thin, making it difficult to care for weeding, fertilizing and preventing pests and diseases.

Tuesday:Water must be managed and used economically, and water must be timed in the fields for planting to avoid the situation of draining the fields dry before harvesting. It is necessary to take advantage of dredging canals and preparing all means to fight drought and prevent salinity, especially in areas irrigated by electric pumps and coastal estuaries.

Wednesday:Due to the indirect impact of climate change in recent times and in the near future, many dangerous pests will arise on crops in an unpredictable and irregular manner. Therefore, regularly check and promptly detect pests for timely prevention and control, especially small leaf rollers.

For rats, localities and people should prioritize using manual measures and launch a mass campaign (because this season rats are scattered, there are still many food sources in the fields, so the use of chemical and biological measures is less effective).

Thursday:The problem of crop conversion. The possibility of drought occurring in this summer-autumn crop is real, so to be “safe”, localities, together with farmers, should review the land that cannot be used for rice cultivation and switch to growing beans, corn and other safe crops to ensure a harvest.

Truong Minh Chau

(Department of Agriculture and Rural Development)