Creativity in drying and using straw of Do Luong farmers

In the fields these days, farmers in Do Luong district are urgently harvesting spring rice. In addition to harvesting by hand, many combine harvesters are mobilized to speed up the progress.

After harvesting the rice fields, people do not burn the straw like other places but dry it right on the surface of the field. In the fields harvested close to the roots, the rice stalks are left with ridges about 2 hand spans high, nearly 3 hand spans wide, with ridges 1.2 m from ridge to ridge. People scoop the straw and dry it on the ridge of the field.

Drying straw on the field saves labor and avoids drying it on the road, which causes traffic safety problems. Photo: Ngoc Phuong

This method not only saves the effort of scooping straw from the field and taking it to another place to dry, but also helps the straw dry quickly because it is dried high above the field and does not get wet. In addition, it frees up space for straw to be dried on the road, causing traffic safety problems like in previous seasons.

The remaining rice stalks will be plowed and mixed into the soil, creating a source of green manure to supplement nutrients for the soil.

While drying straw in the field, Ms. Truong Thi Hanh in Van Son commune said that she dries straw to use as a source of animal feed, because burning straw like other places is very wasteful.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hai in Thinh Son commune confided, “Our people take straw for their cattle and buffaloes during two rice crops a year, but burning straw in the fields will make the soil hot and kill all the beneficial bacteria that loosen the soil. It only takes 2 days of sunshine for the straw to dry; in the cold winter, straw is an effective food source for cattle and buffaloes.”

Farmers carry straw home after only 2 days of drying it in the fields. Photo: Ngoc Phuong

Along with creativity in the straw drying stage,Farmers in Do Luong have effectively utilized straw after harvesting rice. In family gardens and vegetable fields in Dong Son, Trung Son, Thuan Son, Van Son, and Nhan Son communes, people have used straw as a clean organic fertilizer, contributing to increasing vegetable productivity.

After harvesting, people chop the straw into small pieces to cover the beds of mustard greens, chrysanthemums, coriander, etc. after sowing seeds. This helps to retain moisture, prevent rainwater from directly affecting the seedlings, and provides shade to help the seeds germinate quickly in hot conditions. In addition, straw helps the soil stay loose, adding organic fertilizer to increase crop yields.

Along with using straw to grow vegetables, farmers also use straw to grow chives. To achieve high productivity, straw and mulch are two indispensable materials when growing chives. Covering the surface of the bed with straw will help prevent soil from being washed away when it rains, the chives will grow green and lush, with large and numerous bulbs; and harvesting will also be easier.

In addition to using straw for vegetable production, many mushroom farms also use straw to pack into bags as a growing medium for mushrooms. Growing mushrooms with straw has helped many households in Dang Son, Thai Son, Xuan Son communes... earn hundreds of millions of dong each year.

Farmers in Tru Son commune (Do Luong) harvest shallots on planting beds using straw and mulch. Photo: Ngoc Phuong

Another utility of straw that has been fully exploited by farmers in Do Luong is its use for livestock farming. When the weather is cold below 14 degrees Celsius, straw is an effective source of dry food for cattle. Straw is also used as bedding to keep livestock warm in cold weather...

The above benefits show that collecting straw resources is a necessary task. Drying straw right on the fields of farmers in Do Luong is a method that needs to be widely replicated; avoiding the current situation of drying straw on the road and burning straw wastefully in some localities./.

Ngoc Phuong