Many types of pests and diseases are predicted to appear in the spring crop of 2024.

The Ha Tinh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development forecasts that pests such as rice blast, brown planthopper, leafhopper, and leaf roller that damage rice; wilt and root rot on peanuts and vegetables... will develop complicatedly in the spring crop of 2024.

Temperatures in the spring crop of 2024 tend to be higher than the average of many years, which is a condition for the emergence of many types of pests on crops, especially rice.

According to the plan, in the spring crop of 2024, the whole province will produce 59,107 hectares of rice; 6,059 hectares of corn; 7,927 hectares of peanuts; and more than 5,000 hectares of various vegetables. The production season for crops will mainly focus from the beginning of January 2024, in which the main crop, rice, will start from January 5 to February 20, 2024.

According to the forecast of Ha Tinh Hydrometeorological Station, the spring crop temperature in 2024 tends to be higher than the average of many years by about 1.0 - 1.5 ⁰ C, tends to be warm, high humidity, cold spells appear late. According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, in these weather conditions, it is forecasted that many pests will arise, develop and cause serious damage to crops. In particular, some main pests are recommended by the specialized sector such as:

1. On rice plants:

- Thrips, rice stem borers: Cause damage mainly in rice fields lacking water, late planting, peak damage from the stage when rice has 2-3 leaves to the end of tillering, damage time is from early February to early March.

- Root-knot nematodes: They cause severe damage in the early stages of the crop (20-25 days after planting), especially in rice fields that are often drought-prone, lack water, have sandy soil or acid sulfate soil, and poor water retention.

- Rice blast disease: The disease often occurs and causes damage right from the seedling stage, peaking on leaves around the Vu Thuy - Kinh Trap period. Pay special attention to sensitive varieties such as: Thien Uu 8, ADI168, Thai Xuyen 111, LP5, Huong Binh, ND502, HN6.

- Brown planthopper - white-backed planthopper: can cause damage from the stage of rice panicle initiation to green maturity. From April 10 onwards, planthoppers cause damage with high density, wide distribution and can cause large-scale fires, especially in areas without proactive watering and dense planting.

- Small leaf roller: often causes damage at the end of the season, on late-planted fields, lush green fields, and fields on the outskirts of villages.

- Two-spotted stem borer: Causes damage throughout the growth period of rice (including the seedling stage), suitable in warm, hot and humid conditions. In the spring crop, stem borers occur in 2 generations/crop, in which the second generation causes damage during the rice panicle formation - flowering stage, which can directly affect the yield at the end of the crop.

- Brown spot disease: The disease often appears in areas with poor soil nutrients (alkaline soil, sandy soil at the foot of mountains, flooded or drought), rice plants lack water, the ability of the root system to absorb nutrients is poor, rice plants grow and develop slowly, the peak damage is during the rice standing stage - panicle formation.

- Sheath blight: Occurs in hot and humid weather conditions, alternating sunshine and rain, high humidity, in deep, low-lying fields, unbalanced fertilization, excess nitrogen, lack of potassium, and dense planting. The peak of damage caused by the disease is during the rice panicle-flowering stage until waxy maturity.

- Southern black-striped dwarf disease: This disease is caused by a virus, the vector is the white-backed planthopper. The disease shows typical symptoms from the panicle differentiation stage, however, the most sensitive stage is from the seedling stage to the tillering stage.

- Rats: Rats cause damage throughout the growth period of rice plants, causing severe damage in areas near villages, hills, and large canals.

2. Peanuts

- Green worms, armyworms: Peak damage from late March to the end of April during the period when peanuts flower, shoot and develop fruit.

- Black mold, white mold, gray mold: The disease develops strongly in high temperature, humid conditions, poor plant growth, especially in monoculture areas, coarse sandy soil, the disease causes severe damage. Black mold, white mold often causes damage from late February to early March, at the stage when peanuts have 2-3 leaves and branching.

3. Corn plant

- Fall armyworm: Is a dangerous pest that causes damage throughout the growth and development of corn plants, causing severe damage from seedlings to shoots. The worms bite and destroy leaves and shoots, reducing growth and yield.

- Cutworm: Causes damage mainly in the seedling stage (from sprouting to 4-5 leaves), the worm bores into the inside of the plant causing the leaves to wilt and die. The worm usually causes damage from October to April of the following year, peaking from December to February of the following year.

- Stem borers and corn borers: Cause damage from the stage when corn has 7-9 leaves until harvest, peak damage from the flowering stage until the formation of ears.

- Flag bugs: Bugs accumulate in number from the 7-9 leaf stage, peak damage from the flag-flowering stage onwards, bugs suck sap from the shoots, leaf sheaths, flag flowers, ... causing corn plants to grow and develop poorly, with small stems and small ears.

4. On fruit trees:

- Leaf miner, slime worm, green swallowtail caterpillar: Pests cause damage all year round, but are most harmful during the budding season.

- Ulcer disease: In rainy, humid weather conditions, high humidity, temperature 26 - 35 ⁰ C, the disease develops strongly. The younger the tree, the more susceptible it is to severe infection, especially in nursery gardens.

- Stem cracking, yellow leaf and root rot disease: causes damage to perennial gardens, often flooded, densely planted, and little organic fertilizer. The disease tends to develop more strongly in rainy weather conditions, temperatures ranging from 16 - 32 ⁰ C, and high humidity.

- Spider group: causes strong damage in hot and humid weather conditions.

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