Support 500 tons of BC15 rice seeds for Thanh Hoa and Nghe An
The support is provided in the form of rice seeds for two crops: the 2013 Summer-Autumn crop and the 2014 Spring crop.
Official information from Thai Binh Seed Corporation said: The Board of Directors of the Corporation has decided to provide emergency support to farmers in disaster areas. The support will be provided with rice seeds for two crops: the 2013 Summer-Autumn crop and the 2014 Spring crop. To help farmers promptly restore production in areas damaged by the use of BC15 rice varieties, the Corporation has decided to support Nghe An and Thanh Hoa provinces with 500 tons of BC15 seeds.
Responding to information recently published in some mass media about the BC15 rice variety planted in the 2013 Spring crop in some localities having a low grain set rate after flowering, Thai Binh Seed Corporation sent technical staff to the localities to inspect the actual fields, determine the cause and inform the producers.
The Corporation said: BC15 rice variety was recognized as a national variety by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (December 2008); and was awarded the "Golden Rice of Vietnam" Award (November 2012).
In the Spring crop of 2013, the Corporation has supplied more than 3,000 tons of BC15 variety for mass production, mainly for Thai Binh province and the provinces of the Southern Red River Delta, some for the provinces of the North Central, the Northern Midlands and Mountains, the South Central and the South. Up to this point, the provinces of the South and South Central have finished harvesting, the BC15 rice variety has a very high yield (Dong Thap, Quang Nam, Binh Dinh... reaching a yield of 7-7.5 tons/ha).
In the North, the provinces of Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, Ha Nam, Bac Giang, Ninh Binh... have finished flowering, the rice is evenly distributed, the number of flowers per clump is high, the flowers are large and firm quickly, and there is no sign of flower head degeneration or empty grains. Farmers are excited to assess that the 2013 Spring crop will continue to be a big one.
However, according to some localities in the North, BC15 rice flower bloomed from April 23-28, 2013. Although the panicles were large and the number of grains per panicle was still high, the grain-setting rate was low.
Through actual investigation in localities with the phenomenon of low grain production of BC15 rice variety as mentioned above, the Corporation confirmed that the reflection of some localities (Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Vinh Phuc...) is true. Thai Binh Seed Corporation noted that actual inspection showed that the planting area of BC15 variety in some localities is much higher than the area for which the Corporation provided seeds (because farmers used rice produced from the 2012 Summer-Autumn crop as seeds for the 2013 Spring crop).
Conclusion of Thai Binh Seed Corporation: the main reason for BC15 rice crop to flower from April 23-28, 2013 and poor grain formation is due to unfavorable weather at the panicle differentiation stage and rain during flowering, not due to seed quality.
The Corporation also announced the planting of BC15 rice variety in the summer-autumn and winter-spring crop of 2013: BC15 rice variety is a good rice variety, with high yield and is very suitable for the summer-autumn and winter-spring crop, less susceptible to leaf blight; although it has the disadvantage of being susceptible to blast disease and sensitive to low temperatures, it is not affected by the above two factors in the summer-autumn and winter-spring crop. Farmers need to follow the correct planting schedule and cultivation techniques as stated on the packaging; buy the right variety produced by Thai Binh Seed Corporation, do not use rice husks as seeds.
In addition to the decision to support Nghe An and Thanh Hoa provinces with 500 tons of BC15 rice seeds for the 2013 winter-spring crop and 2014 spring crop, the Corporation is currently sending staff to other localities to continue supporting farmers./.
According to VNA - TH