[Photo] Ung Hoa farmers excited about the winter-spring rice crop

In the fields of Phuong Tu commune, hundreds of hectares of farmers’ winter-spring rice are blooming well, promising a bumper crop for the local people. The winter-spring crop lasts from January to April of the lunar calendar every year.

Although the sun was high in the sky, everyone was taking care of their rice fields, waiting for the harvest.

This year is the first year that Phuong Tu Cooperative has popularized the new J02 rice variety for cultivation to all members. J02 rice is a short-term Japanese rice variety with high yield, good resistance to pests and diseases, and delicious rice quality, so the selling price is 30% higher than normal rice. With the new rice variety, people are supported by the locality with 50% of the cost of rice seeds.

Mr. Nguyen Van Nhuong's family in Phuong Tu commune is growing 7 sao of J02 rice, with an average annual yield of 2 to 2.2 quintals/sao, and a selling price of 5,000 VND/kg. This year, he expects to harvest 1.5 tons of rice. He is currently rushing to prepare for the harvest at the end of the month.

Similar to Mr. Nhuong, Ms. Do Thi Hoa's family is growing 8.5 sao of J02 winter-spring rice, with an expected yield of 2 quintals/sao. Although it has not been harvested yet and this is the first year of growing this rice variety, she said that her rice field is expected to yield high yields. The rice flowers are evenly distributed, the grains are thick, and the quality of the rice is better than usual, making her extremely excited. Her family plans to harvest in 2 weeks.

This year's winter-spring crop, most of the rice fields in Phuong Tu commune used airplanes to spray pesticides, helping to increase the effectiveness of preventing pests and diseases that affect rice yield and quality.

Locals said that the weather this year was generally favorable, except for heavy rains and strong winds at the end of the crop, which caused the rice to fall over. Locals overcame this problem by tying the rice into bundles to protect the plants from being crushed.

Due to heavy rains, the rice plants in their young stages are exposed to cloudy weather, causing many pests and diseases. The concerns include snails, leaf rollers, rice blast, and especially rats. Mrs. Hoa's rice fields have suffered considerable damage due to rats. People have overcome this by spraying pesticides, making rat traps, spraying snails, or using lights at night to catch snails.

Local authorities also coordinated with farmers to plan to drain water from the fields to maintain dryness for rice harvesting if heavy rain occurs, causing flooding at the foot of the fields.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong (Ngoc Dong village, Phuong Tu commune) has 2 sao of J02 rice, said: "Because this is the first year of planting J02 rice, the effort and cost are higher than other rice varieties such as Bac Thom or Nep Nhung. However, overall, the harvest is good, the yield is high. During the planting process, we mainly use Viet Nhat NPK fertilizers and Van Dien fertilizers to supplement nutrients for the rice."

After cutting, the grass banks will be burned so as not to affect the yield and quality of the rice about to be harvested.

People in Phuong Tu commune are expected to harvest rice in 2 weeks. Currently, people are focusing on rice care and protection to prepare for the winter-spring rice harvest at the end of the month.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/anh-nong-dan-ung-hoa-phan-khoi-duoc-mua-lua-chiem-post809811.html