Focus on planting early winter-spring rice.

At this time, farmers in the low-lying areas along the dikes in Nho Quan and Gia Vien districts are concentrating resources and manpower, urgently planting early winter-spring rice to ensure timely harvesting before the early summer floods arrive.

Farmers in Gia Tan commune, Gia Vien district, plant early winter-spring rice. Photo: Anh Tuan

In the fields outside the left embankment of the Hoang Long River, in Gia Tien commune, Gia Vien district, a large number of farmers are busy, some pulling up seedlings, others transplanting rice, racing against time to complete the planting before a strong cold front arrives.

Ms. Pham Thanh Hop, from Gia Tien commune, exchanged labor with five other families to cultivate all one acre of her family's rice field. "We rely on this one winter-spring crop all year, so we have to be very careful, skillfully avoiding the harsh cold weather of winter while ensuring the rice ripens and is harvested before the May floods arrive."

"Actually, we have a lot of experience in predicting the weather and choosing the right time to sow seeds, so for many years we haven't had to replant any rice crops due to frost damage, and we've consistently had good harvests..." - Ms. Hop shared.

According to Ms. Hop, to speed up the process, households often exchange labor with each other, so each family only needs 1-2 days to complete the planting. Especially in recent seasons, the price of rice has remained high, resulting in profits, so everyone invests, chooses good seeds, cultivates systematically, and applies recommended technical procedures such as "3 reductions, 3 increases," "1 must, 5 reductions," etc., to achieve good yields and quality.

To ensure a successful rice crop, based on local conditions, Gia Vien district has developed a planting schedule for the early 2024-2025 winter-spring rice crop: Sowing seedlings from December 1st to December 15th, 2024, transplanting from January 1st to January 15th, 2025, and completing the process before January 20th, 2025.

According to a quick summary from the District Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, as of now, farmers in low-lying and dike-side communes have completed land preparation and sowing of seedlings for 100% of the early winter-spring rice crop. In some communes such as Gia Tien, Gia Tan, and Gia Trung, farmers have begun transplanting rice seedlings, with the transplanted area reaching approximately 10 hectares. In Nho Quan district, farmers in low-lying communes such as Lac Van, Gia Tuong, Gia Thuy, and Duc Long are also focusing on protecting and caring for seedlings and preparing the land for the early winter-spring planting season.

Comrade Dinh Van Duc, Vice Chairman of the Gia Thuy Commune People's Committee, said: With 25% of the area (approximately 90 hectares) dedicated to early winter-spring tea cultivation, the commune pays special attention to leadership and guidance to ensure reliable production, food security, and stable livelihoods for the people.

As early as November 2024, we requested agricultural cooperatives to develop plans to organize services effectively for farmers, especially ensuring that land preparation is done quickly, efficiently, and according to proper techniques. In addition, they were instructed to coordinate with villages to strengthen water source protection, manage the opening and closing of sluice gates, proactively repair irrigation canals, and install pumping systems to ensure sufficient water for production.

Currently, rice seedlings have been sown, and land preparation is basically complete. In the next few days, if the weather is favorable, transplanting will be concentrated to ensure the best planting season. The relevant authorities advise that this is the period predicted to have the highest frequency of severe cold spells and frost damage this year. Therefore, localities must closely monitor weather developments in their areas, and promptly inform the public about warnings and forecasts regarding severe cold spells and frost damage so that people can proactively implement response measures.

For areas where rice seedlings have been sown but not yet transplanted, maintain a water level of 2-3 cm on the seedbed to nourish the seedlings and keep their roots warm; cover the entire sown area with plastic sheeting, and care for and protect the seedlings according to proper technical procedures.

For transplanted rice fields, maintain a water level of 3-4 cm on the surface to nourish and warm the rice plants; at the same time, properly care for, fertilize, weed, and protect the rice according to technical procedures. Do not apply nitrogen fertilizer on days when the temperature is below 15 degrees Celsius, ensuring good growth of the transplanted rice plants.

For newly transplanted rice fields experiencing severe cold weather, where the rice plants show signs of stunted growth and many areas may suffer from physiological root suffocation due to the cold, farmers should supplement with 8-10 kg of superphosphate fertilizer per sao (approximately 1000 square meters) to keep the rice warm and stimulate root development.

The relevant departments and localities have been assigning officials to the grassroots level to understand the production situation, guide farmers on planting and caring methods to ensure proper techniques and timing, and strive to complete the planned targets.

Nguyen Luu

Source: https://baoninhbinh.org.vn/tap-trung-gieo-cay-lua-dong-xuan-som-839008.htm