Golden apple snails are flooding many spring rice fields in Nghe An.

Servicespring riceThis year, the whole province planted 90,700 hectares, of which 31,600 hectares were sown. After planting, farmers had to face the problem ofgolden apple snaildestructive, causing significant impact on the growth and development of rice plants.

Farmers carry buckets to catch golden apple snails in the field. Photo: Tien Dong

Although people have proactively sprayed chemicals and left residue to lure golden apple snails to a corner of the field to catch them, with their tenacious nature, strong growth and development, in just a short time, golden apple snails have flooded all over the fields.

Ms. Xuan in Hamlet 1, Hung Nghia Commune (Hung Nguyen) said that her family planted more than 5 sao of rice, this year the golden apple snails grew very quickly, spraying and catching them at the same time but only a few days later the field was full. Even the snail eggs were still attached to the rice stalks, grass stems and plastic sheets stretched around the banks.

Because golden apple snails thrive, people have caught dozens of them in just one corner of the field. Photo: Tien Dong

Mr. Phan Quang Mao - Chairman of Hung Nghia Commune People's Committee said that this spring crop, the whole commune's plan is to plant more than 450 hectares of rice. In addition to pests, stem rot, and leaf rot, golden apple snails are also a problem that gives people a headache.

In particular, the sown area was heavily damaged by golden apple snails. Immediately after sowing, people were advised to spray pesticides and leave residue to kill snails, but this only limited the damage to some extent and did not completely eradicate it.

There are fields where golden apple snails appear densely. Photo: Tien Dong

In the fields of Hung Chinh commune (Vinh city), layers of newly hatched golden apple snails are scattered all over the fields like grains of sand. Having to catch them is both time-consuming and labor-intensive.

Mr. Thuan, a resident in Hung Chinh commune, said: His family cultivates nearly 1 hectare of rice field, because they don't have time, so they mainly sow directly. Since sowing, the family has gone to catch golden apple snails many times but they can't keep up. After counting, there are fields with a density of golden apple snails of up to 150 snails/m².

According to Mr. Hoang Nghia An - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Hung Nguyen district, this year the whole district sowed directly about 2,500 hectares out of a total of 5,300 hectares. Currently, in parallel with pest control, the locality has also actively informed farmers to use many measures to kill golden apple snails, to help rice plants grow healthily.

Golden apple snails damage rice plants by eating the roots and young stems, causing the plants to lose strength, grow poorly, and even die. Photo: Tien Dong

In the districtThanh Chuong, this year's spring rice crop, the locality planted more than 8,600 hectares of rice, of which about 50% were direct sown. Mr. Le Dinh Thanh - Vice Chairman of Thanh Chuong District People's Committee said: After the Tet holiday, the district directed the communes to organize inspections and promptly inform people about the disease situation and pests on spring rice. For golden apple snails, people are called on to proactively prevent them by spraying pesticides and catching them by hand.

According to statistics from the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, after planting, the spring rice area in the province with a density of up to 387 hectares of golden apple snails. Mr. Nguyen Tien Duc - Head of the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection of Nghe An shared that after the rice plants have developed stably and the stems are hard, for areas where golden apple snails still appear, people can release ducks into the fields to both kill the snails and help stir the mud to loosen the soil, helping the rice plants grow better.