Farmers interested in Integrated Pest Management

Tuyen Quang Province’s Crop Production and Plant Protection Department have organised a meeting to assess the IPM model that was applied to rice variety VNR20 grown in five hectares in Minh Huong Commune, Ham Yen District.

Tran Hai Tuyen, head of the department said that 30 households in the commune joined the model. They were given rice seeds and trained to apply the relevant farming technique.

VNR20 rice variety has outstanding advantages such as short duration, hard stem, moderate plant height, strong tillering, good fall resistance, good resistance to pests and diseases; the number of seeds on cotton is high, sowing two crops in a year and good quality.

The application of IPM for the VNR20 rice variety helped farmers early protect rice from diseases, properly use pesticides and pave the way for them to produce organic rice in Minh Huong Commune.

Other 30 farming households in Lang Can Town, Lam Binh District also applied the IPM model on a total of 3 ha. All the households used the same VNR20 rice variety, the same farming technique and preventive measures against pests and crop diseases.

According to the farmers, their rice grew well with the IPM application. Especially, they saved production costs as they only used plant protection products once, thus producing safer rice, ensuring health for the community and environment.

The rice yield in the model is estimated at 63.7 quintals/ha, 8 quintals/ha higher than the control field.

Ta Van Tinh, head of Yen Son District Agriculture and Rural Development Department said that the application of IPM was proved effective as it helped farmers to develop sustainable farming, use less chemical products, save water and use more organic fertilisers and bio-products to restore the soil.

Nguyen Duc Can, a farmer in Tan Long Commune, Yen Son District said that he applied IPM on his two sao (equally 720 sq.m) of corn.

“I attended training classes about IPM,” he said, adding that he now understood further about IPM which helped ensure human health and crop productivity.

The application of IPM in Tuyen Quang Province created a firm foundation for the application of VietGAP and organic farming in the locality. 

Until now, seven co-operatives and 18 co-operative groups in the province are producing, processing and consuming organic products. International and national farming standards are applied in more than 1,600 ha of tea, rice, fruits and vegetables in the province.