On January 20, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quang Tri province confirmed that as of January 16, more than 23,000 hectares of rice had been planted in Quang Tri province. Taking advantage of the warmer weather, localities are focusing on planting the remaining 2,000 hectares of rice to ensure the season.
Notably, from January 9 to January 16, in Quang Tri province, the weather turned cold, with some days of heavy rain causing flooding in some newly sown rice areas.
According to statistics from the provincial Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection, more than 2,000 hectares of rice were flooded, of which about 600 hectares had to be re-sown.
The damaged rice area that had to be re-sown was mainly concentrated in Vinh Linh and Gio Linh districts.
Mr. Tran Van Tung (residing in Vinh Son commune, Vinh Linh district) said that at this time in previous years, after sowing, farmers would be free to prepare their houses to welcome the Lunar New Year. But this year, after sowing, the rice encountered unfavorable weather, causing the seeds and roots to rot. To be on time for the crop, Mr. Tung had to use the reserved rice to sow again.
The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vinh Linh district said that for now, people should proactively replant the rice damaged by the weather. The locality is conducting statistics and making plans to support people to overcome the situation.
Ms. Nguyen Hong Phuong - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quang Tri province - said that she has asked localities to strengthen production guidance and enhance disease prevention on crops before, during and after Tet.
For newly planted rice fields, people need to prepare means to promptly drain water from rice fields when heavy rain causes flooding. In rice fields that are cold, grow and develop slowly, and in rice fields that are late in the season, it is necessary to increase care and use foliar fertilizers to spray to help the rice plants recover quickly, grow strong and concentrated tillers, and shorten the growing period.
