Application of biotechnology in rice production
(Baonghean) - In rice production, the use of chemicals to protect crops and increase productivity plays a very important and indispensable role. However, due to the current situation, chemicals have been used too much in the fields, causing ecological imbalance, making rice production unsustainable.
In order to minimize the harmful effects of chemical abuse, many measures have been researched and applied in the Mekong Delta such as integrated pest management, biological control, etc., which have brought high efficiency, contributing to protecting the ecological environment. The application of biotechnology in rice production is a correct and necessary direction to move towards building a sustainable agriculture.
Currently, rice productivity in the Mekong Delta has increased significantly compared to before. However, along with that achievement, rice production in the region has also revealed many dangerous weaknesses, mainly the unreasonable use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The abuse of chemicals has destroyed microorganisms in the soil, making the land increasingly barren and water sources polluted. The disease resistance of crops has decreased significantly.
In addition, the excessive use of chemicals in rice production not only reduces the safety of rice, but also disrupts the biological balance in the fields. This situation has led to the consequence that rice cultivation is increasingly dependent on chemical fertilizers; causing environmental pollution and increasing investment costs.
To overcome this situation, experts have researched and applied many biological technical advances to production.
Among them, the first thing to mention is the research on hybridization of new rice varieties. Thanks to the application of biotechnology achievements such as cell culture techniques, mutation techniques, and modern hybridization methods, the time has been shortened and many rice varieties have been selected to produce high yield, good quality, and resistance to adverse weather and pests.
In addition, the research and application of biotechnology in diagnosing and preventing pests has also had many important achievements. Thanks to modern technology, diseases caused by viruses on rice have been quickly identified. Using biotechnology, scientists have also researched and produced many pest control products with convincing results, such as the process of producing Ometha green fungus to control pests, using stimulants to prevent rice blast disease, using antagonistic fungi to prevent rice blast disease, or producing Tricodecma fungus strains to decompose straw...
The most prominent of these is the process of using green fungus to control brown planthoppers and many other pests in rice fields. Green fungus is a parasitic natural product that kills pests, especially limiting the outbreak of brown planthopper density at the end of the crop. Because green fungus does not kill natural enemies, at the same time, fungal spores produced from infected planthoppers can spread to the next generation of planthoppers. Therefore, they do not have the conditions to cause a population outbreak. This is an advantage that chemical pesticides cannot have.
Using biotechnology, scientists at the Mekong Delta Rice Research Institute have researched the process of cultivating green mushrooms and transferred it to farmers for use. With the practical results achieved, this scientific and technical achievement is considered a good measure, helping farmers manage brown planthoppers, leaf rollers and many other insects on rice plants very effectively, especially during the ripening stage.
Along with solutions for seed work and production of biological pesticides, in recent years, the Mekong Delta has also implemented many rice cultivation processes in the direction of comprehensive intensification such as the IPM program, 3 reductions 3 increases, 1 must 5 reductions, simultaneous planting to avoid planthoppers, ecological technology, etc. With a focus on biological pest control measures, chemical drugs are only used as support when absolutely necessary.
Typically, the 3 reductions - 3 increases and 1 must - 5 reductions program has been recognized by the agricultural sector as a scientific and technical advance, and is being widely recommended by functional sectors and scientists to help farmers minimize factors that can cause pests to break out in their fields. Among them, the main requirements are to use good quality, certified seeds; sow at moderate density - by pulling rows or thinly sowing. In addition, during the cultivation process, it is also necessary to reduce the amount of nitrogen fertilizer, reduce pesticides, reduce the amount of irrigation water in the fields... thanks to which farmers can reduce production costs while still ensuring rice productivity, and increase family income.
In particular, in recent years, scientists have also introduced a program to produce rice using ecological technology. The goal is to create and maintain the diversity of crops and beneficial organisms in the fields, forming a highly balanced rice field ecosystem. If this can be done, the risks of brown planthopper outbreaks, as well as yellow dwarf and stunted leaf curl diseases, will be greatly reduced. At the same time, it can also help to effectively manage many other harmful insects on rice plants.
In terms of implementation, this program basically still applies advanced farming techniques, such as sowing to avoid planthoppers, cultivating rice according to the process of "1 must, 5 reductions" ... But the new point is that it is accompanied by planting flowers on the field banks before sowing. The purpose of this is to maintain, preserve and attract natural enemies to the rice fields. Through actual records in the experimental fields, it shows that the presence of natural enemies has increased, pests are almost absent and brown planthoppers, yellow dwarf disease, and leaf curl dwarf have been well controlled. Currently, the ecological technology program - planting flowers on the field banks to attract natural enemies has been widely replicated throughout the provinces of the Mekong Delta.
The decisive issue in biological pest control is still promoting the role of natural enemies in the fields. Typically, in Hieu Nhon commune - Vung Liem district, the agricultural sector has coordinated with local authorities to implement rice production according to the ecological technology program and use green mushrooms in the fields. From the basic foundation of the "1 must 5 reduction" farming technique, combined with planting flowers to attract natural enemies, healthy rice fields have been built from the beginning. When the rice is 20 days old, some pests begin to appear in the rice fields with low density, farmers spray green mushrooms for prevention. From the natural natural enemies appearing on the banks of the fields with flowers, combined with the artificial natural enemies of green mushrooms, it has helped to control pests very well, especially brown planthoppers and leaf rollers. Therefore, during the entire growth process of the rice plants, farmers here have not had to use chemicals to control pests.
With the practical effects that biotechnology has created in rice production in recent times, it can be affirmed that this is a correct and necessary direction if we want to build and develop a sustainable agriculture.
The remaining problem now is how to make it easy for farmers to access and widely apply these technical measures with high efficiency in production. In the long term, the State also needs to have appropriate investment policies for the development of biotechnology, so that more and more achievements can be widely applied in rice production.
However, the application of biotechnology in agricultural production in general, and rice cultivation in particular, is a long-term task, requiring not only the active participation of experts and authorities, but also the enthusiastic support of farmers.
According to bannhanong - LY
