Focus on harvesting the winter rice crop

The mass harvest of winter-spring rice has entered its peak season. Farmers in localities in the province are focusing on human resources and means to speed up the harvest with the motto "green at home is better than ripe in the fields".

The agricultural sector recommends that farmers take advantage of favorable weather to harvest the winter-spring rice crop early and quickly.

Every year, when it is time to harvest, the joy after a bumper crop always shines on the faces of farmers when the fruits of their labor are rewarded through the heavy rice grains. However, this year's crop, due to the effects of weather and pests, has reduced rice productivity. Walking through the rice fields during the harvest season, the farmers' sadness is reflected in each rice grain.

Ms. Le Thi Chanh, Dong Vinh commune (Dong Hung) said: The cost of producing winter-spring rice this year is almost the highest in recent years. The rice was just planted and encountered heavy rains, although I did not have to replant, I had to spend a lot of time pruning and taking care of it. My rice bloomed right when storm No. 3 made landfall, so pollination was poor, the rate of empty grains was high, causing a significant decrease in yield. Currently, the rice is only about 85% ripe, but to ensure safety, I took advantage of the dry weather to harvest and dry it, preserving yield.

It is still a bustling rhythm every time the season comes, but this year's crop season, farmers in Hung Ha district are "less happy" when about 4,000 hectares of the district's winter-spring rice were affected by storm No. 3, rain, and floods, with productivity decreasing compared to the 2023 crop season.

Mr. Pham Van Binh, Head of the District's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said: This year's crop, Hung Ha has planted over 10,300 hectares of rice. The structure of varieties and crops has been implemented quite seriously by farmers, in which more than 60% of the area is planted with high-yield rice, the remaining area is planted with good quality rice varieties for goods such as RVT, Bac Thom No. 7, TBR279... By October 9, the whole district had harvested over 8,000 hectares. With the motto "morning rice, afternoon color", the district directed farmers to maximize the area of winter crops to compensate for damage caused by natural disasters.

To harvest quickly, localities have implemented flexible plans to transfer harvesters. Mr. Tran Van Sy, a harvester owner in Nghe An, said: After finishing the summer-autumn rice crop in Nghe An, we transported the machine to Thai Binh to harvest the winter-spring rice for the people. We took advantage of favorable weather to increase the machine's running time because if it rains, the fields are wet, the rice is wet, the machine will have difficulty operating, and it will cost more fuel. This year, rice productivity has decreased, so we have also adjusted the harvesting cost to share with the people.

This year's winter-spring crop, the whole province planted over 74,300 hectares, of which the area of high-quality rice varieties reached over 30,100 hectares, the group of high-yield pure rice varieties was nearly 44,000 hectares, the remaining area was hybrid rice. By July 20, the whole province had basically completed the planting of winter-spring rice, however, due to heavy rains from July 14 to 19, more than 1,000 hectares of winter-spring rice had to be replanted, concentrated in Tien Hai, Kien Xuong and Vu Thu districts. In early September, storm No. 3 and the rain and floods after the storm affected and damaged over 60,100 hectares of winter-spring rice. In addition to unfavorable weather factors, this year's winter-spring crop also recorded complicated developments of pests and diseases, especially the two-spotted stem borer with a density 6-10 times higher than the average of many years, scattered in many peaks, causing damage to many rice fields, affecting the effectiveness of prevention and control. This is probably the most difficult production season in many years.

By October 9, the whole province had harvested nearly 30,000 hectares of winter-spring rice, concentrated in the districts of Hung Ha, Dong Hung, Vu Thu, Quynh Phu, and Thai Thuy. From now until the end of October, localities will focus on harvesting winter-spring rice. The agricultural sector recommends that farmers take full advantage of favorable weather to harvest early and quickly the ripe winter-spring rice area according to the motto "green at home is better than ripe in the fields", freeing up land early for winter crops. Closely follow the crop schedule and actual weather developments to adjust the crop structure appropriately; at the same time, flexibly apply land preparation and planting methods to take advantage of the season, expand the area of warm-loving winter crops that are still in season; develop groups of cold-loving winter crops that have advantages, long-term preservation ability and good consumption markets.