Hundreds of hectares of corn in Tan Ky district have no grain due to severe drought.

Present in Nghia Dong commune, one of the localities with the largest corn acreage in Tan Ky district on May 8, reporters recorded corn fields that had turned yellow due to leaf burn, many corn stalks were stunted, the cobs were small and had no kernels, and many plants did not flower.

Many corn fields in Tan Ky district have burnt leaves. Photo: QA

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thao's family in Hamlet 5, Nghia Dong Commune has 5 sao of corn, planted since last February with hybrid corn variety 919. There is only a little over a month left until harvest time, however, Ms. Thao cannot help but worry because the entire corn area is burned or has no seeds, this crop is considered a total loss.

Corn fields are stunted and empty due to lack of water. Photo: QA

“The record heat wave at the end of April coincided with the flowering stage of corn, so the formation of corn and kernels was severely affected. Any corn that had its husk removed had no kernels, and if there were any, they could be counted on the fingers, scattered. Each sao of corn, the family had to spend nearly 200,000 VND on seeds, not to mention renting a plow for 250,000 VND/sao, phosphate, nitrogen, and care... never before had corn suffered such a great loss,” Ms. Thao shared.

Ms. Thao's family's 5 acres of corn have no kernels, only the cobs are left. Photo: QA

Mr. Dao Xuan Nam's family in Hamlet 3, Nghia Dong Commune is also in a similar situation, up to 90% of the family's corn acreage has no seeds, and cannot be harvested. Mr. Nam said: Regarding the seeds and the process of planting and caring for corn, we still do it like every year. In previous years, corn yielded well, but this year, the corn did not produce seeds because it bloomed right at the time of prolonged drought, the water source was exhausted, and there was no timely rescue...

According to statistics, the entire Nghia Dong commune has 179 hectares of corn, spread over 11 hamlets. Mr. Phan Van Thanh - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Nghia Dong commune said: After receiving information from the people, the commune conducted a survey and assessed the current state of corn in the area. Accordingly, almost the entire corn area was damaged by severe drought with common characteristics such as corn not flowering, thin, short silk, many plants with burnt leaves, most of them without kernels... The commune has reported to the district about this situation to find a solution. However, according to local authorities, saving corn is very difficult, especially in the context of the upcoming heat waves.

The peak heat wave in April caused the corn flags to burn, making it unable to pollinate to form ears and kernels. Photo: QA

According to research, currently, corn in Nghia Dong commune is harvested by two methods including harvesting corn and making livestock feed at home, the second method is importing corn biomass for dairy companies. According to the local government, because the corn area this year has a very poor yield, no corn, no seeds, so companies are not interested in purchasing for people. In previous years, each sao of corn also brought in an income of 1.5 - 1.8 million VND if imported fresh for the factory, this year, very few households have corn of good quality, qualified for the company to purchase.

According to statistics from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tan Ky district, the whole district currently has 1,500 hectares of corn, concentrated in the communes of Nghia Dong, Nghia Dung, Ky Tan, Tan Long, Nghia Hoan, Nghia Binh...

Rivers in Tan Ky district are gradually running out of water. Photo: QA

Ms. Dang Thi Van - Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tan Ky district said: Currently, there is no exact data on the area of ​​damaged corn because the district is updating reports from localities. However, the general assessment is that this year's corn crop will have a sharp decrease in yield due to severe drought, hitting the time when corn is flowering - this is an important stage in the development of corn plants.

Regarding the areas of burnt, low-yielding, and grainless corn, the district is coordinating with the communes to count the area and will make efforts to contact units that purchase corn plants for the people to minimize the damage. In the long term, the district will also have plans to convert crops to adapt to the increasingly severe drought in the coming years.

Source: https://baonghean.vn/hang-tram-hec-ta-ngo-o-huyen-tan-ky-khong-co-hat-vi-han-nang-post289056.html