Nghe An farmers actively prevent rice pests and diseases at peak season

Potential for serious harm

Going to the field to spray insecticide to prevent rice blast disease on 3 sao of rice entering the heading stage, Ms. Nguyen Thi An in Duc Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district said that she discovered signs of rice blast disease on March 20. "From now until the end of the season, rice is very susceptible torice blast disease, dry stripes and especially rats are very harmful," Mrs. An worried.

Currently, 12,790 hectares of spring rice in Yen Thanh district are in the stage of panicle differentiation, and the early rice is expected to bloom from April 7 to 15. Recently, some pests and diseases have appeared in the fields such as rats, yellow leaf disease, brown gray disease, brown sheath blight, and leaf blast disease.

Mr. Nguyen Van Duong - Vice Chairman of Yen Thanh District People's Committee said: It is forecasted that from now until the end of the season, there will be many favorable conditions for the subjects.pests and diseasesIn case of severe damage, the district has directed specialized agencies to strengthen inspection, timely prediction and forecasting to guide farmers in prevention and protection of spring rice productivity.

Although rice pests and diseases have only appeared sporadically in some early-planting communes such as Minh Chau, Dien Nguyen, Dien Thai, etc., according to Mr. Nguyen Van Phu - Deputy Director of the Agricultural Service Center of Dien Chau district, after the cold rains at the end of March and the beginning of April, the air humidity is high, the possibility of pests and diseases arising and causing strong damage is very high.

“It is predicted that rats will cause severe damage during the rice standing and heading stages; leaf blast disease has appeared on some varieties such as Thai Xuyen 111, TBR225... and will continue to arise and spread in the coming time when the weather is favorable; in addition, if not prevented early, brown spot and bacterial leaf blight will spread widely,” said Mr. Phu.

Faced with that risk, to ensure the safety of the spring rice crop during the "peak" period, Dien Chau district continues to launch a campaign to exterminate rats, while at the same time, strengthening recommendations on measures to prevent and control pests and diseases, especially areas infected with rice blast disease must regularly check fields and take advantage of the cool weather to spray for prevention.

Do not abuse pesticides

In the 2025 Spring crop, the whole province planted more than 90,827 hectares of rice. Up to now, the rice fields are entering the heading stage, which is a very sensitive period to pests and diseases such as blast, leaf blight, brown spot, etc. Recently, rats have caused widespread damage to more than 2,250 hectares, of which more than 245 hectares were severely damaged. The whole province has more than 320 hectares of rice infected with blast disease, concentrated on rice varieties that are susceptible to the disease such as AC5, Thai Xuyen 111, etc. in the districts of Hung Nguyen, Thanh Chuong, Nam Dan and Vinh City.

In addition, nearly 600 hectares of rice are infected with sheath blight; bacterial stripe disease, leaf blight, shoot borer, golden apple snail, and black stink bug have arisen and damaged rice sporadically in many localities.

Worryingly, according to Mr. Trinh Thach Lam - Head of Plant Protection Department, Provincial Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection: From now until the end of the season, many rice pests and diseases are likely to arise and cause widespread damage, with the risk of greatly affecting rice productivity. In particular, the period from earing to flowering is the period when rats cause strong damage and directly affect productivity. When rice plants enter the earing - flowering period, if the weather is cloudy with lack of light and high humidity, it will be very favorable for rice blast disease to arise and cause widespread damage, especially in areas that have been affected by leaf blast disease, areas where infected rice varieties are grown, and fields with excess nitrogen fertilization. Farmers need to visit the fields regularly, closely monitor weather developments to proactively prevent and control according to the recommended dose, before and after the rice has fully bloomed.

In addition, sheath blight can also occur on all varieties and cause serious damage from the rice flowering stage to maturity, especially in fields with high nitrogen fertilizer, fields that are often dry, and fields that are densely planted; black grain blight occurs and causes serious damage during the flowering stage, especially when there is prolonged wet weather; bacterial leaf blight and streak disease occur in fields with excess nitrogen fertilizer, hybrid rice varieties, and high-quality purebred varieties, especially when there is stormy, rainy weather. Brown planthoppers and white-backed planthoppers also occur and cause a lot of damage from April when the rice is flowering to maturity, especially in fields with excess nitrogen fertilizer, fields with high water levels, and weak rice plants. Planthoppers will accumulate density and often cause fire at the end of the crop when the rice is milky until ripe.

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Farmers only prevent diseases when they have reached the threshold of prevention. If strange phenomena are detected on rice, samples should be collected and reported to technical staff to avoid incorrect disease identification leading to incorrect and ineffective disease prevention. When using pesticides, it is necessary to use the right drugs, for the right subjects, and in the right dosage. Avoid overusing pesticides, which not only pollutes the environment but also causes drug resistance, increases investment costs, and affects farmers' profits.

Mr. Trinh Thach Lam - Head of Plant Protection Department, Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection of the province