Black streaked dwarf rice virus infects 28 provinces
HA NOI — Black streaked dwarf rice disease has hit 28 cities and provinces across the country and may rapidly spread to southern areas, the latest report from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's Plant Protection Department has revealed.
According to the report, since the disease was discovered in rice fields in northern Thai Binh Province last year, 20 out of 25 northern cities and provinces, five out of six northern central provinces and two southern central provinces have been seriously infected.
Since early last month, the disease has rapidly spread throughout northern regions and seriously affected rice fields in Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Lao Cai, Nam Dinh, Hoa Binh and Bac Giang provinces.
In the last two weeks, more than 4,418ha of rice in northern Thai Nguyen Province, central Quang Binh Province and central coastal Khanh Hoa Province have shown signs of stunted growth, raising the total infected area of the winter-spring crop to nearly 256,150ha.
Bui Sy Doanh, deputy director of the department, said the disease was likely to spread south.
Most of the infected areas are suffering from stunted, flat rice, which will dramatically reduce productivity. Even rice fields which showed no signs of disease and grew normally in Ninh Binh Province's Nho Quan District, Nam Dinh Province are at a high risk of ill-quality or flat rice. Deputy Minister Bui Ba Bong said it would take about 20 days to establish the effects of the disease on the nation's rice industry because of complicated developments and unexpected consequences.
According to agricultural experts, the disease can become an epidemic if no effective measures are taken to tackle the situation. Currently, about 50ha of the early spring-summer crop is infected by the disease.
To deal with the problem, the vice minister has urged departments of agriculture and rural development to destroy all infected areas, especially in the southern central region to stop the disease from spreading. Authorities have been asked to help farmers to spray crops properly. — VNS