How to produce the 2020 winter crop to 'make sure' in Nghe An

As planned,winter cropThis year, Nghe An will plant 21,500 hectares of corn, including 16,500 hectares of corn for grain, 5,000 hectares of corn for stems and leaves as cattle feed, 12,000 hectares of various vegetables and beans, 2,000 hectares of sweet potatoes, 1,500 hectares of peanuts...

However, this year's winter crop production forecast is not very favorable.

Bustling winter crop field work in Dien Chau district. Photo: Quang An

To achieve good results in winter crop production, we need to pay attention to and do well the following issues:

Another thing worth noting is that the current Enso weather phenomenon is leaning towards the cold phase and will transition to La Nina state in the last months of 2020. Therefore, this year's winter comes earlier and is colder than recent winters.

Due to the impact of the cold phase, the weather will change significantly, with the possibility of heavy rain, storms and tropical depressions. As such, this year's rainy and stormy season will inevitably lead to widespread flooding in low-lying areas; flash floods and landslides in mountainous areas.

Quynh Luu farmers lost their 2017 winter peanut crop due to heavy rain. Photo: Archive - Viet Hung

According to the assessment of the National Center for Hydrometeorology, 2020 is the hottest year in the North Central region in the past 50 years. Usually, in such years, after the end of the hot season, there is heavy rain and strong winds. Therefore, our ancestors have a saying "a lot of sun, a lot of rain". Therefore, this year's winter crop production will not be as favorable as previous winter crops.
Monday:Classify land according to high and low terrain to arrange crops and production seasons appropriately to limit the impact of weather during the rainy and stormy season causing damage to production results. The land for winter crop cultivation in Nghe An has 4 regions, suitable for each crop and production season as follows:
Region 1:The sandy, light-meadow coastal land stretches from Vinh city, Cua Lo town, Nghi Loc and Dien Chau districts to Quynh Luu and Hoang Mai town. This land has an area of ​​about 18,000 - 20,000 hectares, with a sloping land direction towards the sea, so it is rarely flooded when there is heavy rain or prolonged rain.

This land is very suitable for planting crops such as: corn, peanuts, vegetables, cabbage, kohlrabi, tomatoes, potatoes, beans, watermelon, onions, garlic… Farmers need to choose one, two or three… most suitable crops in their locality to plant. The earlier the planting season, the better, 1-2 crops can be planted in the whole production season.
Winter crop production experience of farmers in Dien Chau shows that if you plant peanuts early,plastic coatingon the bed surface, if growing vegetables of all kinds, make high beds, have a good drainage system and seedlings must be grown in the nursery first, then mature plants can be planted for safest.

Farmers in Dien Thinh (Dien Chau) go to the fields to produce the winter crop. Photo: Canh Yen

In this area, it is difficult to plant early because it depends on the early or late harvest of summer-autumn rice and then the rainy and stormy season that can come early. If planted late, it will affect the spring rice planting season... Therefore, although the potential area is large, the area of ​​corn planted on land with two rice crops is only 4,500 - 5,000 hectares, sweet potatoes 1,800 - 2,000 hectares.
To produce winter crops effectively in this area, first of all, we must take advantage of planting immediately after harvesting summer-autumn rice. For corn and sweet potatoes, it is best to cover the beds with straw after planting to prevent heavy rains from eroding and hardening the soil, and to limit weed growth. Sweet potatoes grown in the winter, if fertilized properly and covered, will have a very high yield.
Region 3:The alluvial land along Lam River, Hieu River, Con River... in the whole province has 10,640 hectares, the largest is Anh Son district with 2,300 hectares. Most of the alluvial land along the river is sandy, light loam suitable for many types of crops such as: corn, peanuts, leafy vegetables and seed vegetables, tubers, fruits...

There are two types of alluvial soil along the river: high alluvial soil is less prone to flooding during the rainy season from September onwards. This type of soil is not abundant, only about 20%. Low alluvial soil accounts for up to 80% and is very susceptible to flooding during the rainy and stormy season.
On high alluvial land, try to plant corn, peanuts, and various vegetables as early as possible. On low alluvial land, you have to wait until the heavy rainy season ends and the river water stops rising from November onwards before planting. This crop is called the late winter-early spring crop.

Green squash plants bring high economic efficiency in Thanh Linh commune, Thanh Chuong district. Photo: Phu Huong