Nghe An farmers let rice die, experts say it is not recommended

Farmers spontaneously let rice die

Going to the fields of Dien Lam commune (Dien Chau) these days shows that, besides some areas that have been planted with summer-autumn rice, there are fields of green rice in the stage of heading and flowering.

Mr. Ta Quang Huy - agricultural officer of Dien Lam commune said that this summer-autumn crop, the whole commune is taking care of 250 hectares of dead rice. Photo: Xuan Hoang

According to Mr. Chu The Mau, a farmer in Hamlet 1, Dien Lam Commune, his family has been growing rice straw for many years now, and each crop yields an income of 1.2 to 1.5 quintals per sao. This year, the family is taking care of 5 sao of rice straw. Rice straw requires little investment and does not require tillage. After harvesting spring rice, rent a machine to cut the stubble close to the base, drain the water, and apply 8-10 kg of NPK fertilizer per sao. When the straw grows, apply 2 kg of urea fertilizer per sao; when the rice is about to flower, apply 3 kg of potassium per sao. It is expected to be harvested at the end of July, and if the yield is 1.2 to 1.5 quintals per sao, there will still be a profit.

“In the context of skyrocketing inorganic fertilizers, farmers often face risks of weather, pests, etc. in summer-autumn crop production, which can easily lead to losses. Growing rice requires little care, only spending on fertilizer to help the plants grow quickly. Last year I did the same, after harvesting each sao of dry rice, I got 1.5 quintals of rice, which was profitable,” Mr. Chu The Mau shared.

The rice fields in Dien Lam commune are in the earing stage, expected to be harvested at the end of July. Photo: Xuan Hoang

According to the report of the People's Committee of Dien Lam commune, in this summer-autumn crop, the whole commune only planted 65 hectares of rice and planted 65 hectares of various vegetables. For rice husking, the whole commune has 250 hectares. Mr. Ta Quang Huy - an agricultural official of Dien Lam commune said that 3-4 years ago, some households in the commune spontaneously let rice husking and harvested, so later the area of ​​rice husking in the summer-autumn crop has increased.

Currently, people leave rice stubble in two ways: First, leave the stubble intact after harvest; second, cut close to the stubble after harvest. Of these, cutting close to the stubble results in slower harvest, but is easier to care for and has higher productivity. Although the local government does not encourage people to leave rice stubble, due to the high price of agricultural materials, high land preparation and planting costs, people continue to leave rice stubble, and the commune also accepts it.

According to Mr. Le The Hieu - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dien Chau district, according to statistics from localities, this summer-autumn crop, the whole district has about 400 hectares of rice left to die, in the communes of Dien Lam, Dien Nguyen, Dien Hoa, Dien Truong... Of which, only Dien Lam commune has people left rice to die on dry fields; the remaining communes are mainly deep fields, not suitable for harvesting by machine, so it is convenient for leaving rice to die. During the time of leaving rice to die, farmers invested in fertilizing, so they had some harvest.

The rice in Lang Thanh commune has now flowered. Locals said that in previous years, the rice yield in this crop was less than 1 quintal of rice per sao. Photo: Xuan Hoang

In Yen Thanh and Quynh Luu districts, many areas of rice are in the flowering and grain filling stages. Farmers in Lang Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) said that in the summer-autumn crop last year, many families left rice to dry and harvested nearly 1 quintal of rice per sao.

According to Mr. Tran Van Hien - Director of Lang Thanh Commune Agricultural Service Cooperative, this summer-autumn crop, the whole commune has about 50 hectares of rice, concentrated in deep-lying fields. Accordingly, right after the spring rice harvest, people set up protective poles, not allowing people to graze buffaloes, cows, and ducks; at the same time, the cooperative regulates water reasonably in the fields for the rice to develop. However, people do not invest in fertilizer, so if there is, they harvest, if not, that's fine.

Mr. Le Van Hong - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Yen Thanh district said that the district does not include in the structure and does not encourage people to let rice die. Therefore, the district does not care about farmers in some communes spontaneously letting rice die.

Professional bodies do not recommend

In response to the current situation of some localities in the province leaving rice to wither, Mr. Nguyen Tien Duc - Head of the provincial Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection said that the province currently does not encourage people to leave rice to wither, because there is no planning area for rice to wither in the province. Moreover, when people leave rice to wither arbitrarily, it is a place for pests to accumulate, and a medium for disease transmission to rice areas planted in the summer-autumn rice crop.

Rice fields of Lang Thanh commune. Photo: Xuan Hoang

According to Mr. Nguyen Tien Duc, because the efficiency of rice husking is not high, especially now that it is harvested by machine, a part of the stubble is crushed. Therefore, with areas that are too difficult, people can leave rice husking, otherwise, people should determine that agricultural production is to make a profit and create a food source, serving livestock development. If not, people need to take advantage of the rice growing area after harvest to graze fattened buffaloes and cows, raise ducks in the fields... raise fish - rice, fish in the third crop. In fields that are more favorable for summer-autumn production, for households that do not have the conditions to do so, other households should use the land for sowing, to ensure the local production plan and safety from pests and diseases.

Thus, in the conditions of floods and high material prices, allowing rice to be suffocated spontaneously by farmers may help farmers increase their income. However, according to the recommendations of professional agencies, localities should not encourage farmers to let rice be suffocated, but should encourage them to sow summer-autumn rice, in order to ensure production plans and limit other consequences./.