Saving irrigation water in spring crop production.
(Baonghean) - Following a successful winter crop, farmers in the province are now focusing on preparing the land and tidying up their fields in preparation for the spring planting season. In the fields, rice seedlings covered with plastic sheeting have begun to sprout and grow well, ready for planting, which is expected to start on January 25th.
According to the planting schedule of Tan Ky district, all communes began sowing their first rice seedlings on January 5th. However, in the highland communes, due to their unique characteristics, farmers started sowing seedlings on January 1st, 2015. Although there is no longer government support, most of the rice seedling areas in Tan Ky are covered with plastic sheeting to protect against cold and rodent damage, and the seeds are carefully treated before soaking and germination. The warm, sunny weather has resulted in very good development of the sown seedlings; however, farmers are still proactively stockpiling 10-15% of their rice seeds to mitigate losses due to unfavorable weather conditions.
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| Farmers in Hung Dao commune (Hung Nguyen district) prepare the land for the spring planting season. Photo: cS |
According to Mr. Nguyen Ba Thuc, Head of the District's Agriculture Department: This spring, the district aims to stabilize the area planted with crops such as rice, corn, vegetables, and beans, while reducing the area planted with peanuts and increasing the area planted with sugarcane, especially in riverside areas prone to drought. The entire district strives to achieve 34,842 tons of food, including 27,342 tons of rice and 7,500 tons of corn. Currently, there is still enough water to irrigate rice, however, by the end of the spring season, the reservoirs and dams in the area may run dry if there is no rain. The pumping stations along the Con River are more proactive, but they can only meet the irrigation needs for about 30-35% of the rice area in the district.
Therefore, using water as sparingly as possible is currently the district's top priority, aiming to preserve at least enough water for the rice seedlings of the main crop. “The most worrying issue right now is the area of newly planted sugarcane. In our plan, we projected 7,000 hectares of sugarcane, including 2,500 hectares of new planting, comprising 700 hectares for the autumn-winter crop and 1,800 hectares for the spring crop. However, due to the extremely low rainfall this year, many sugarcane fields have been harvested but cannot be replanted, or in areas where planting has been possible, the germination rate is very low. We are encouraging people to try to utilize available water sources to irrigate the sugarcane, but the results are insignificant,” Mr. Thuc shared.
In Quynh Luu district, approximately 50% of the land is ready for spring crop production. For the remaining areas, farmers are focusing on cleaning the fields and preparing the soil. To date, most communes in the district have completed land consolidation and exchange, and improved internal irrigation and transportation infrastructure. As a result, over 90% of the land is now cultivated using machinery, accelerating production progress, freeing up labor, and increasing efficiency. As a crop season that receives significant investment and intensive farming from the Party committees, local authorities, and the people, Quynh Luu enters spring production this year with relatively favorable conditions. The irrigation and drainage canal systems and other agricultural production facilities are continuing to be invested in, repaired, and upgraded.
Scientific and technological advancements and techniques such as intensive peanut cultivation with plastic mulch, integrated pest management (IPM), the "3 reductions, 3 increases" (ICM) system, and improved rice cultivation (SRI) are being widely applied by the people. Several new high-yielding, high-quality rice varieties have been proven effective and added to the crop structure. However, recognizing the remaining difficulties, such as unfavorable weather conditions during the spring planting season, with frequent periods of severe cold at the beginning of the season, especially for rice seedlings, the district has directed farmers to cover 100% of the area with plastic mulch. From the beginning of January 2015, in some low-lying, saline-affected areas requiring the transplanting of mature seedlings in the communes of Quynh Thanh, Quynh Dien, Quynh Hung, Quynh Ba, etc., farmers began sowing seedlings. The sowing time is expected to vary depending on the planting season and region, but the sowing of seedlings throughout the district will be completed by January 20th. "Due to low rainfall in 2014, some reservoirs and dams have not accumulated enough water, and some are undergoing repairs, so there is no water available for production."
"The upgrading of the Ba Tuy, Hoc Met, Ho Trung dams and several other reservoirs and dams has affected water storage for the 2015 spring crop production in Quynh Tan, Quynh Chau, Tan Son communes, etc. Some areas at the end of irrigation canals, high-lying areas, and areas where crops are grown frequently experience water shortages and lack reliable water sources. Therefore, this spring we will convert some rice fields to corn and other drought-resistant crops. We aim to have over 50% of the planted area planted with high-quality rice varieties," said Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dinh, Head of the District Agriculture Department.
This spring, with the policy of arranging crop varieties and planting seasons appropriately based on the conditions of each region, and promoting crop restructuring in difficult areas to ensure safety and increase income per unit area, the entire province aims to plant 86,000 hectares of rice, including 16,000 hectares of high-quality rice and 17,000 hectares of corn. In the crop variety structure, only officially recognized rice varieties that have undergone successful model trials in Nghe An will be included. This year, the beginning of spring coincides with February 4th, 2015, which is December 16th, 2014 according to the lunar calendar. Localities will base their planting schedules on the growth time of each variety and actual conditions to ensure that spring rice flowers from April 25th to May 5th, with areas prone to flooding flowering from April 20th to April 25th. Therefore, the rice seedling sowing schedule is determined from January 5th to January 25th, with sowing and transplanting to be completed before February 15th. According to forecasts, the province will soon be affected by a verstärkt cold front, coupled with the experience of many years when the early spring planting season often experiences severe cold spells, so covering the seedlings with plastic sheeting is emphasized to ensure their healthy growth and development.
According to meteorological and hydrological forecasts, this year's spring crop is expected to take place under conditions of high temperatures, with a high risk of water shortage due to low rainfall in 2014. According to Mr. Ho Ngoc Sy, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the agricultural sector and local authorities are focusing on directing irrigation units and farmers to use water as sparingly as possible. In areas at the end of canals, areas using water from reservoirs and dams, and areas without complete water control, the crop structure should be shifted from rice to other drought-resistant crops, with particular emphasis on corn. Of particular concern is the rapidly increasing rat infestation, posing a significant threat to spring crop production. Therefore, local authorities need to launch rat eradication campaigns to protect crops. Furthermore, with current weather trends and forecasts, pests and diseases are likely to appear early and develop strongly in this year's spring crop; rice blast disease is likely to appear even after transplanting, and even in seedlings. Therefore, farmers need to regularly visit their fields and carefully inspect them to detect and control pests and diseases promptly, minimizing their harmful effects on spring rice crops.
Phu Huong
