Golden apple snails attack spring rice crops in Quynh Luu.

(Baonghean.vn) - Right after the joyful days of celebrating the Lunar New Year, farmers in Quynh Luu district are suffering as they have to go to the fields to cope with the golden apple snail infestation that is destroying their spring rice crops.

Golden apple snails are proliferating in many rice fields in Quynh Luu.

This spring, the entire Quynh Luu district has planned to plant 7,550 hectares of rice. Due to the desire of farmers to finish their farming work early so they can have time to celebrate the Lunar New Year, most people started planting before Tet. Currently, in some low-lying fields, golden apple snails are multiplying and destroying the spring rice crop.

In the Lao rice fields of Quynh Hong commune, many rice paddies have been completely stripped bare after planting due to golden apple snails devouring the rice plants. The average density is 10-20 snails per square meter, with some areas having hundreds of snails per square meter. Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu, a resident of Hamlet 5, Quynh Hong commune, who is urgently catching golden apple snails in her rice field, said: "This spring, my family planted more than 4 sao (approximately 0.4 hectares) of rice, 90% of which is the Thai Xuyen rice variety. This year, there are countless golden apple snails. My family has to mobilize people to go down to the fields to catch them."

Along with farmers in Quynh Hong commune, farmers in Quynh Ba, Quynh Doi, Quynh Dien, Quynh Hau communes, etc., are also urgently going to the fields to catch and kill golden apple snails to protect the newly planted spring rice crop.

People in Quynh Hong catch golden apple snails.

Ms. Ho Thi Hoa from Hamlet 8, Quynh Ba Commune, expressed her concern: “Because the rice seedlings are still young, snails often bite through the roots, killing the rice plants. This year, my family cultivated 6 sao (approximately 0.6 hectares) of rice land, but golden apple snails destroyed nearly 3 sao.”

Mr. Dang Lam, Director of the Quynh Ba Commune Agricultural Cooperative, said: "The entire Quynh Ba commune currently has 258 hectares of spring rice planted, reaching 100% of the plan. The commune's agricultural committee has also inspected the fields and found that the golden apple snail infestation is mainly concentrated in low-lying areas or around ponds and lakes. Therefore, we encourage farmers to eliminate golden apple snails manually by letting ducks eat them or using herbs such as neem leaves or papaya leaves, dropping them into low-lying, waterlogged areas to attract the snails, then catching them by hand and killing them or burning them."

Thanh Toan

(Quynh Luu Radio Station)