What to Do When Rice Has Difficulty Heading? Causes and Solutions

We are all familiar with rice; it is the staple food for one third of the world's population, and its yield is tied to our survival. However, during cultivation, difficulty heading can occur, seriously affecting rice yield. So what causes difficulty heading in rice? And how should it be solved? Let's take a look at the detailed explanation below.

I. Causes of Difficulty Heading

1. Variety: Difficulty heading generally appears as the neck-bending phenomenon, where the rice grains cannot emerge in time to pollinate and fertilize, easily forming empty and shriveled grains, with a large impact on yield. This cause may be a problem with the variety itself; varieties that are inherently prone to empty and shriveled grains have a large impact on yield, and when they encounter unfavorable growing conditions, this becomes even more serious.

2. Improper pesticide application: Improper pesticide application mainly refers to excessive application of agents such as triadimefon before heading, which very easily causes the neck-bending phenomenon in rice. In addition, improper application of herbicides can also affect the growth of rice, and in severe cases can also cause difficulty heading.

3. Poor temperature: Rice is relatively sensitive to temperature during heading. If the temperature is too high or too low, it can also cause the neck-bending phenomenon in rice, resulting in difficulty heading.

4. Nutrient deficiency: Long periods of rainy weather can cause serious loss of soil nutrients, or the soil's fertility itself may be insufficient, causing rice to fail to grow normally due to lack of nutrients, and thus the phenomenon of difficulty heading appears.

5. Pests and diseases: Under poor growing conditions, especially during rainy weather, pests and diseases are more serious, causing reduced yield in mild cases and total crop failure in severe cases. The pests and diseases that affect difficulty heading in rice include rice blast, stem borers, rice planthoppers, and rice leaf roller, among others.

II. Solutions

For rice with difficulty heading, it is recommended to first spray gibberellin. After spraying gibberellin, the rice will head in time within 2-3 days, allowing flowering and pollination to occur, which can promptly reduce the empty and shriveled grain rate and avoid a serious decline in yield. Generally, use 1-2 grams of gibberellin per mu, diluted with 50-60 kg of water, and spray. If only part of the rice shows difficulty heading, spray the agent only on those plants; do not spray it on plants that are heading normally, so as to avoid excessive elongation of the internodes in these plants later on. In addition, during the heading stage, low-concentration solutions of sodium humate, potassium chloride, and urea can be sprayed, which can enhance photosynthesis, increase the seed-setting rate, and raise yield.

The above is an introduction to the causes of and solutions for difficulty heading in rice. We hope it can help you. If you want to learn more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.