There is no specific treatment yet.
Faced with the situation of stink bugs attacking many rice fields in the Mekong Delta region, speaking with Lao Dong, Master Nguyen Phuoc Tuyen - former Director of the Agricultural Extension Center of Dong Thap province - said that for rice plants, stink bugs are classified as secondary (not important) because the life cycle of rice plants lasts 3 months but this species only attacks for about 15 days (the milky stage). Understanding the nature of this insect, farmers should not be too panicked.
Accordingly, farmers should spray pesticides early in the morning, when there is still dew and the insect wings are wet, preferably before 8 am, to be effective and save costs.
However, looking at the story of small insects causing concern for farmers, Master Nguyen Phuoc Tuyen acknowledged: "It is unfortunate that nowadays, when an epidemic occurs, we see very little information from the authorities guiding farmers on which pesticides to spray, when, and how to not leave residues in rice grains. That shows a loophole in the agricultural system."
Regarding the reasons for the outbreak and high density of stink bugs in rice fields in the Mekong Delta region, Mr. Tuyen said that there are many reasons. First of all, because rice is valuable, farmers immediately plant new rice after harvesting to continue selling. Therefore, the fields have all the growth stages of the rice plant, creating favorable conditions for insects to thrive. Next, the agricultural sector does not have a substitute for pesticides, so when an outbreak occurs, there is no medicine to treat it.
"To be more precise, at this time, we still do not have weapons to destroy this species!" - Mr. Tuyen worried.
Need prevention strategy
Also according to the former Director of the Dong Thap Province Agricultural Extension Center, many years ago, the Department of Agriculture maintained a sowing schedule, recommending farmers to sow according to the seasonal schedule to prevent some harmful organisms. Therefore, in the context of stink bugs attacking on a large scale, it is necessary to promote and strictly implement this to avoid the growth cycle and especially cut the food chain to minimize the density.
At the same time, Master Tuyen emphasized the role of the agricultural sector in strengthening the need to guide farmers in spraying pesticides to prevent stink bugs according to the "4 rights" principle (right drug, right time, right dosage and right way) so that farmers do not have to do it themselves as they do now. This not only helps farmers reduce unnecessary expenses, but also contributes to ensuring rice quality, protecting the ecological environment...
Currently, stink bugs not only appear and cause damage to rice in many places in the Long Xuyen Quadrangle but also spread to some localities in Soc Trang and Tra Vinh provinces...
This is extremely dangerous in the context of rice cultivation in the entire Mekong Delta taking place like a back-to-back crop. This is not only an ideal environment to provide food but also a place for stink bugs to multiply rapidly, directly attacking the winter-spring rice crop - the rice crop considered the main raw material for Vietnam's rice exports. More worryingly, to date, there is still no specific medicine to treat this rice pest.
