VietNamNet Bridge - Rice blast disease has affected the winter-spring crops in many provinces, including Kien Giang, Long An, Dong Thap, Vinh Long, An Giang, Soc Trang and Hau Giang, warned the Southern Steering Committee for Pestilent Insects Fighting and Prevention.

In these Mekong Delta provinces, nearly 99,000 hectares have been infected with the disease, accounting for 5-15 percent of the total crop area. In some areas, the rate was up to 30 percent, the committee said.

At the same time, brown backed rice plant hoppers have damaged 46,465 hectares of the crop, with a density ranging from 750-2,000 insects per square meter, but up to 3,000-7,000 in some provinces.

Currently, the insects are migrating and will enter their reproductive cycle a few days before the coming Tet (lunar New Year) that falls on February 14, the committee noted.

The committee called on all agriculture and rural development departments of the Mekong Delta provinces to strengthen control measures for the hoppers saying pesticide spraying was the solution for rice fields close to harvest.

The committee also asked the provinces to carry out more inspections and control of rice blast disease before, during and after Tet.

VietNamNet/SGGP