Hotter weather threatens 40% of crops in the north

HA NOI — Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked ministries and agencies to make efforts to cope with droughts and diseases threatening the winter-spring crop, according to a new document released yesterday.

Previously, at a meeting in Ha Noi on Thursday, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Cao Duc Phat, urged localities to take drastic measures to limit the impacts of recent abnormally hot weather on the winter-spring crop.

According to the ministry, 200,000ha of cultivated crops in the northern region, accounting for 40 per cent of the region's total farming area, are under threat from this year's hot weather, which is 6-7 degree Celsius higher than previous years.

Early transplantation combined with several heat waves may result in the crops ripening early in late April when the end of season cold spell usually hits the region, which may lead to crop loss, according to deputy director of the Cultivation Department, Pham Dong Quang.

To make it worse, high temperatures have created favourable conditions for pests and insects that damage the crops.

Signs of short black stripe virus were found in rice samples taken from many provinces including Lai Chau, Dien Bien and Son La, said Bui Sy Doanh, deputy head of the Plant Protection Department.

In addition, white-backed pests and brown pests have appeared in fields in Nam Dinh and Hai Duong provinces, and Hai Phong City.

Minister Phat asked localities to maintain the water level in fields at 3-5cm. More fertiliser for the rice, about 20-30 per cent higher than usual, would keep the rice growing and delay the harvest until early May, a good time for a high rate of full seed pods.

In the regions where farmers have yet to sow and transplant, the ministry suggested that they keep their rice seedlings, save water and transplant in late February.

Localities need to closely and regularly inspect crops to prevent infestations.

Dung asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Electricity of Viet Nam to work with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to help provide enough water for the crops.

Moreover, the Government would financially support farmers to buy pesticide as recommended by the ministry. The authorities would also tighten inspections of pesticide trade to avoid increasing costs and substandard quality.

According to the Cultivation Department, as planned, northern provinces would cultivate about 1.13 million hectare in the winter-spring crop of 2009-10 with a yield of 0.6 tonnes per hectare, and an estimated output of 7 million tonnes of rice.

The temperature in the next three months is also predicted to be higher than average, and the northern region may be hit by a heat wave in early March. — VNS