Bau Don farmers "restless" because corn has no kernels

The corn fields are growing quite well but the low seed rate puts growers at risk of loss.

According to many farmers, this year the weather has little rain and a lot of sunshine, which is very favorable for corn to grow and develop. Mr. Le Van Tinh (residing in Hamlet 7, Bau Don Commune) said that this year his family planted 0.5 hectares of LN61 corn variety of Nha Ho Seed Joint Stock Company (Nha Ho Ninh Thuan Company). The corn is now over 70 days old and in the stage of forming seeds and drying silk. However, after checking some mature fruits, Mr. Tinh was surprised to see that many fruits had a very low seed set rate (from 20 - 50%/fruit), some corn even only had a few seeds, which made him very worried.

According to Mr. Tinh, compared to previous years, the weather was quite favorable so the corn grew very well, the plants were tall, green, and the corn was big. He and many corn growers were very excited, trying their best to take care of and fertilize the corn fields.

Up to now, his family has spent nearly 20 million VND on fertilizer alone, and he will wait until harvest to finalize other costs such as planting, spraying pesticides, and removing flags. It is estimated that with his family's 0.5 hectare of corn, Mr. Tinh has spent more than 30 million VND.

The corn is almost ready to be harvested but has no kernels, making farmers worried.

Mr. Nguyen Van Nhanh - Chairman of the Board of Directors, Director of Bau Don Seed and Agricultural Services Cooperative (Bau Don Cooperative) said that this winter-spring crop, the Cooperative signed a contract to produce LVN61 corn seed with Nha Ho Ninh Thuan Company, with a total planting area of about 40 hectares; his family alone is planting 2.7 hectares. Currently, the corn plants are about 75 days old, and the total estimated cost he has to spend is more than 100 million VND.

According to Mr. Nhanh, for many years now, Bau Don Cooperative has cooperated with reputable units supplying seeds and consuming agricultural products (such as rice, corn, etc.), providing certified seeds and ensuring quality, so cooperative members are very secure in farming.

However, this year’s corn crop, for unknown reasons, had no kernels (few kernels). After receiving feedback from cooperative members, Mr. Nhanh inspected the field and responded to Nha Ho Ninh Thuan Company. The company representative promised to conduct an inspection and support growers after the harvest results were available.

Mr. Le Van Tinh checks each corn in the field.

A representative of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) of Go Dau district said that the unit has not received any feedback from the people and local authorities on the above issue. According to information from Tay Ninh Newspaper, the DARD will coordinate with the People's Committee of Bau Don commune to conduct specific inspections and report to higher authorities.

According to the provincial Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection, the unit has just received the information and is requesting the Go Dau District Cultivation and Plant Protection Station to conduct a field inspection and will report to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

According to farmers, this year's Winter-Spring crop has favorable weather conditions, especially in irrigated fields, so corn grows better than in previous years. Many corn fields in Ben Cau district have a good harvest, with full corn kernels. The fact that corn plants grown by households in Bau Don have no kernels, or few kernels, is quite confusing, and requires the intervention of specialized agencies to avoid losses for farmers in the following crops.

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Nguyen An

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