Rice production by sowing tray, planting machine helps reducing half rice seeds

Rice production by sowing tray and planting machine has reduced a half of rice seeds compared to the common practice of sowing by hand or rice seed sprayer in Soc Trang Province.

Farmers improve soil before sowing rice seeds in Soc Trang Province. Photo: Trong Linh.

Huynh Ngoc Nha, Director of Soc Trang Province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said in addition to shifting to grow high-yielding rice varieties instead of common rice varieties, the application of machines in sowing rice seeds is very important stage to promote the rice cultivation. 

In particular, building a model of application of rice production by sowing tray and planting machine in rice production is directed by the department and the Soc Trang Agricultural Extension Centre, he said.

For example, Hung Loi Agricultural Cooperative in Long Duc Commune, Long Phu District is one of the units selected by the centre to apply the model in rice production in the summer-autumn rice crop of 2021, he said.

The model has brought many positive results, consistent with the weather situation of the year in the province, he said.

Truong Van Hung, director of the cooperative said if all local rice fields apply the model like in the summer-autumn rice crop of 2021, rice trees will grow in a straight line instead of some grow out of the line that makes local growers have to remove them. 

It is one of the benefits the planting machine bringing to farmers in agricultural production, he said.

He said in the summer-autumn rice crop of 2021, the cooperative has deployed the model in an area of 50 hectares, with 32 members participating. The rice variety OM18 was used as rice seeds to sow in the field.

Rice production by sowing tray and planting machine contributes to reducing the production costs. 

The amount of rice seeds used for sowing is about 3 - 4 kg of seed per 1,000 sq.m, a decrease of 6 kg of seeds compared with the sowing technique of "3 decreases, 3 increases" and from 10 - 15 kg compared with the traditional sowing method, he said.

The rice was sowed sparsely, very suitable for the summer-autumn crop with many rains, avoiding the situation of rice falling during the rain, he said.

In particular, when the rice trees grow healthy, it limits the attack of pests, reducing the cost of fertilisers and pesticides, he said.

The method of using a planting machine is suitable to sow rice seeds for the next crop because rice seeds are not mixed with other varieties, he said.

Besides, the rice yield is quite good, reaching 6.9 tonnes per ha, making a profit of nearly VND37 million (USD1,614) per ha, an increase of nearly VND9 million (USD392) per ha compared to the traditional sowing method, he said.

Lieu Nghia Tin, deputy director of the centre said applying the model not only helps in reducing at least a half of rice seeds compared to the traditional sowing method but also increases the financial efficiency by 23 per cent.

The model’s rice yield is 400-500kg per ha higher than the traditional sowing method, he said.

If farmers run planting machines as a service, they could earn a profit of about VND1.5 million (USD65) per ha, he said.

After deducting the fees for depreciation, machine repair, fuel, hiring of transport and labour, the farmers could gain the investment capital for buying the machine after about 2-3 crops, he said.

Like other provinces in the delta, Soc Trang Province has advantages in agricultural development, especially in terms of exploitation, aquaculture and cultivation.

In which, rice cultivation is one of the key strengths of the province with the world-famous ST24 and ST25 rice brands.

Smart rice farming in Soc Trang Province. 

The provincial agricultural sector has implemented organic rice-production models in accordance with VietGAP standards in order to improve the yield and quality of rice over the past time.

The centre is in charge of one field using one variety and two types of fertilisers of Dau Trau A1 and A2 of Binh Dien Medical Company. The field still used the traditional sowing method with the amount of seeds from 120 - 150 kg per ha.

In the meantime, five farmers, who applied the model, only needed 50 kg of seeds per ha.

From the model, it can be seen that if farmers know how to apply techniques, the rice farming industry has the opportunity to double its profits compared to traditional production.