100% of the rice seedling area is covered with plastic sheeting to protect it from the cold.

(Baonghean.vn) - At this time, farmers in some localities of Nghe An province are sowing rice seedlings and transplanting them for the 2016-2017 spring crop. To protect against the cold and limit pest and rodent damage, farmers are covering 100% of the sown rice seedlings with plastic sheeting.

Farmers in Hamlet 1, Lang Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District are sowing rice seedlings for the 2016-2017 spring crop.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa, a farmer from Hamlet 1, Lang Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District, said: Her family will plant 4 sao (approximately 0.4 hectares) of rice in the upcoming spring crop. On December 25th, she completed the sowing of rice seedlings and covering them with plastic sheeting, along with sprinkling wood ash on the seedlings. The plastic sheeting was purchased from the commune's agricultural cooperative at a price of 30,000 VND/kg. For 4 sao of rice, she spent 40,000 VND on plastic sheeting.

Covering seedlings with plastic sheeting is time-consuming and costly, but it provides peace of mind during severe cold weather and prevents insects and rodents from entering. Once the seedlings have grown well, the plastic sheeting can be removed so they can absorb sunlight properly.

Wherever they sow the rice seedlings, the farmers cover them with plastic sheeting.

Mr. Dao Chinh Son, head of Hamlet 1, Lang Thanh Commune, said: Following the direction of the Commune People's Committee, before sowing the rice seedlings, the hamlet held a meeting to implement the spring crop production plan, in which it was emphasized that households must cover the seedlings with plastic sheeting. Therefore, the entire concentrated rice seedling sowing area of ​​the hamlet, 100% of the seedlings were carefully covered with plastic sheeting.

Yen Thanh District has approximately 400 hectares of rice seedlings to be transplanted for about 12,700 hectares of rice in the upcoming spring crop. To ensure good seedling development, the District People's Committee has assigned specialized departments to direct localities to intensify propaganda to encourage farmers to sow seedlings according to the correct schedule and to cover 100% of the seedling area with plastic sheeting. However, in some localities such as Lang Thanh, Phuc Thanh, Hau Thanh, Nam Thanh, etc., farmers have sown seedlings 7-10 days ahead of the scheduled planting season (Yen Thanh's seedling sowing schedule starts from January 1, 2017).

Thanh Phong commune in Thanh Chuong district has many areas that are frequently flooded, so farmers prepare the land for planting earlier than the district's scheduled planting season.

In Do Luong and Dien Chau districts, at the end of December, many farmers have begun sowing rice seedlings for the spring planting season.

Mr. Tran Doan Hung, Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Do Luong district, said: The district's rice seedling sowing schedule is from January 5-10, 2017, but in some low-lying areas, farmers had to sow mature seedlings, so they sowed seedlings a few days before the district's schedule. However, the district instructed local authorities to guide farmers to cover the seedlings with plastic sheeting.

According to the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, the province's spring rice seedling sowing schedule is from January 5th to 10th, 2017. To protect seedlings from the cold and limit pest and rodent damage, the Department has directed localities to strictly adhere to the schedule and cover 100% of the seedling area with plastic sheeting.

However, due to the specific characteristics of some localities with low-lying land, farmers are sowing rice seedlings earlier than the scheduled planting season, such as in Dien Chau, Do Luong, Thanh Chuong, Yen Thanh, Hung Nguyen... Farmers have invested in purchasing plastic sheeting to cover the entire area of ​​sown seedlings.

Xuan Hoang