Summer-autumn rice being harvested

In the rice fields at this time, farmers are focusing on harvesting the last summer-autumn rice crop. The new point of this summer-autumn crop is that the Khanh Hoa Provincial Agricultural Extension Center has piloted the An Sinh 1399 rice variety with positive results, opening up the possibility of replacing perennial rice varieties that show signs of degeneration.

About 6 tons/ha of yield

Nguyen Thi Hong (Truong Phuoc village, Ninh Quang commune, Ninh Hoa town) said that 1 hectare of summer-autumn rice of her family yielded 70 quintals, slightly lower than the previous summer-autumn crop. This year, the summer-autumn rice crop experienced many periods of severe water shortage, especially in the early stages of the season, when farmers had to pump water regularly. Therefore, rice yield decreased, while costs increased. With an average selling price of 8,800 VND/kg, after deducting costs, 1 hectare of summer-autumn rice earn farmers an income of nearly 30 million VND.

In Dien Khanh district, Le Van Hung - Director of Dien Loc Agricultural Cooperative said that the production season of nearly 300 hectares of rice of the cooperative this year is later than previous years. Mainly because this year, at some points in time, Lang Nhot lake lacked water, leading to stagnation in production organization, resulting in late harvest. Up to now, the cooperative has harvested 217/287 hectares, while in previous years, the harvest was completed at this time. The entire rice area of the cooperative is rice seeds, produced according to orders from seed companies.

Tran Thien Hung - Head of the provincial Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection said that this year, the whole province produced 17,418 hectares of summer-autumn rice, down 4.19% compared to the same period last year. The area decreased because some areas had to temporarily stop production due to prolonged drought, lack of irrigation water, and some areas were converted by people to grow other annual crops. Up to now, farmers have harvested nearly 14,000 hectares, with an estimated yield of 60 quintals/ha (last year's summer-autumn crop yielded 61 quintals/ha). In addition, farmers have also sown more than 2,000 hectares of winter-spring rice, mainly concentrated in Ninh Hoa and Cam Ranh. It is expected that this year, the whole province will convert more than 300 hectares of ineffective rice land, without proactive irrigation water, to grow other annual crops. Ninh Hoa has converted more than 250 hectares, Van Ninh district has converted 49 hectares, Khanh Son district has converted nearly 4.3 hectares. Up to now, about 150 hectares of rice land has been converted by farmers to grow lotus, potatoes, vegetables, beans, etc.

Farmers in Ninh Hoa harvesting summer-autumn rice

Prospects of new varieties

Nguyen Be (Dai Tap village, Ninh Than commune, Ninh Hoa) said that in previous years, his family mainly grew TH97 rice. This year, he used 3,000m² to participate in the An Sinh 1399 rice variety production model implemented by the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center. This rice crop, the weather conditions were not very favorable for rice plants, many times the hot weather affected the growth of rice. However, the An Sinh 1399 rice variety has good drought resistance, yielding more than 7 tons/ha, some neighboring households have even higher yields. In the upcoming winter-spring crop, he will continue to test the An Sinh 1399 rice variety to more fully assess its suitability.

Sharing the same opinion with Be, households participating in the model in Ninh Than commune with a total area of 2 hectares all agreed that An Sinh 1399 rice variety has good yield. Although the selling price of An Sinh 1399 rice is a few prices lower than TH97, the new rice variety has better resistance to pests and adverse weather conditions.

According to Thai Thi Tuyet - Technical Officer of the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center responsible for implementing the model, this summer-autumn crop, the center implemented a quality rice production model with An Sinh 1399 rice variety on a total area of 10 hectares. Of which, in Ninh Hoa, there are 8 hectares in the communes: Ninh Than, Ninh Phu, Ninh Tho, and Ninh Son; in Van Ninh there are 2 hectares in Van Thang commune. The control rice varieties are ML48 in Ninh Hoa and ML202 in Van Ninh.

Over the implementation period, the results showed that An Sinh 1399 rice has better drought tolerance and pest resistance than the control rice variety. For example, ML48 rice variety, previously the main variety in the province, is widely grown by farmers because it is suitable for soil and cultivation conditions. However, this rice variety was born more than 25 years ago. Many farmers use this year's rice as seed for the following year, so there are signs of degeneration, affecting productivity and pest resistance. An Sinh 1399 has a growing period of 90 days, shorter than the control variety. 

It is known that this model has been inspected and evaluated by a professional working group consisting of officials from the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center; the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development; representatives of local authorities of Ninh Hoa and Van Ninh. Accordingly, at the time of inspection, the model rice was in the preparation stage for harvest, with long rice panicles and bright rice grains. With the recorded and analyzed results, the model has produced a rice variety with a short growing period, high yield, good resistance to pests and diseases, which can be included in the production structure, bringing higher value and economic efficiency to rice growers.

HONG DANG

Translated by T.T