Nghe An: 'Golden' rain saves crops from drought

The golden rain on the afternoon of June 23 saved thousands of hectares of tea for the people of Anh Son, Thanh Chuong from severe drought. Photo: Thanh Phuc

On the afternoon of June 23, some localities in the province had moderate to heavy rain. Typically, the districts of Thanh Chuong, Anh Son, Con Cuong... After a long period of hot weather, this rain is considered "golden rain, silver rain" because after the rain, the temperature drops, the soil absorbs water, and crops are relieved of drought.

Mr. Luong Van Vien, a tea grower in Thanh Mai commune (Thanh Chuong) said: "After harvesting, the tea plants need to recuperate and recover. However, the intense heat that has lasted for the past 10 days has caused 10 hectares of tea to suffer from severe drought, and many areas of tea leaves have been scorched. We have to continuously pump water, cover with straw, and cover with plastic film to keep the tea plants moist, but we are still very worried that the tea will burn and die. Fortunately, it rained heavily, lasting from 12:30 to 16:00, helping the soil to be "full" of water, the tea plants were watered, the temperature decreased, and the prolonged drought was stopped."

Rain helps fruit growing areas in many localities to "relieve drought". Photo: Thanh Phuc

Mr. Vo Van Quy -Chairman of Thanh Thuy Commune Farmers' Association(Thanh Chuong) said: "The whole commune has nearly 560 hectares of tea for business, of which, the electricity line has not reached the place, so during the dry season, people have to use generators to operate irrigation pumps, the price of oil is constantly increasing, so people are very costly. The heavy rain this afternoon has provided timely water for the plants, providing a valuable source of irrigation to help the tea plants recover quickly after harvesting."

Not only Thanh Chuong, but also some areas in Anh Son have experienced heavy rain, lasting for hours, contributing to lowering the temperature, providing water and moisture to the soil, helping to prevent drought and heat for crops.

Mr. Pham Van Ngoc, an orange grower inKhai Son commune (Anh Son)said: “Orange is a crop that has poor drought tolerance, summer is the stage for the tree to grow and store water in the fruit, so if there is not enough water for irrigation, it will greatly affect the quality and yield. The “golden rain” this afternoon has promptly “cooled down” thousands of orange trees of the family. After this rain, oranges and grapefruits will grow better and ensure the yield at the end of the season."

Oranges are in the fruit-growing period, so the prolonged heat has significantly affected productivity and quality. Fortunately, the "golden rain" this afternoon has promptly "cooled" this crop. Photo: Thanh Phuc

In addition to helping fruit trees and crops recover, this afternoon's rain also helps many localities have enough water to close the summer-autumn crop, helping to reduce the risk of forest fires in forests and forestry land after a prolonged heat wave. At the same time, it replenishes water reserves for ponds, lakes, canals, and ditches.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan, a farmer in Thanh Mai commune (Thanh Chuong) said: "When it rains, there is a natural water source that helps the rice to be watered and soaked in the fields, so the rice plants have the "momentum" to grow. Many vegetable and corn areas will also grow faster."

The rain this afternoon in many localities has helped people have water to close the summer-autumn rice area. Photo: Thanh Phuc

In addition to helping fruit trees and crops recover, heavy rain this afternoon also helped cool down forest areas, increase humidity, and avoid the risk of forest fires during the hot, dry season. At the same time, it helped replenish water reserves for ponds, lakes, and canals for irrigation in the coming time.

Mr. Nguyen Dang Khoa - Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Anh Son district said: "The prolonged heat has affected thousands of hectares of oranges, tea, hundreds of hectares of rice and other crops in the area. Some localities have not yet closed the summer-autumn area due to lack of water. Therefore, this afternoon's rain is very valuable, contributing to moistening the soil, saving crops from drought, helping orange trees during the fruiting period to have water to nourish the trees, tea trees after harvest have conditions to recover, and canals to store water to close the summer-autumn production area".