Rice management aims to nourish the roots, protect the leaves and promote tillering

Wang Shengxuan, associate researcher at the Grain Crops Research Institute of the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences, believes that every year when the rainy season arrives, regional heavy rainfall occurs in the rice-growing areas in both the north and south of the province, and waterlogging causes disasters in some areas, especially for rice planted in lower-lying paddy fields, where some rice seedlings are submerged to the top. After being flooded, the rice root system and leaves are severely damaged, the plant's normal physiological metabolism and stress resistance are severely weakened, and the total number of stems and tiller seedlings drops sharply. If flooded paddy fields do not receive timely and effective management, it will inevitably cause a large reduction in yield, or even a total loss. Therefore, scientific remedial measures must be taken promptly for flooded paddy fields, with the goal of nourishing the roots, protecting the leaves and promoting tillering, preventing and controlling pests and diseases, increasing the ear-bearing rate, and increasing grain number and grain weight.

Drain as soon as possible. Whether flooded rice can achieve a yield depends on how early the drainage is done; and how high the yield is depends on whether remedial measures can keep up. Therefore, removing standing water from the field is an urgent task for restoring rice growth after a disaster, and it is also the most effective remedial measure. It is necessary to race against time and speed, adopt all necessary and possible means, and make an all-out effort to drain the standing water from the fields to reduce the harm of waterlogging. However, note that if high temperature and clear hot weather occur after the flood disaster, the field water should not be drained completely all at once; instead, a water layer of about 3 cm should be retained in the field to prevent high-intensity leaf evaporation from causing physiological dehydration and death of the plants.

Remove mud from the leaves. After a flood disaster, a layer of sediment often clings to rice leaves, which blocks leaf stomata and affects photosynthesis. When the sun comes out on a clear day and the leaves turn pale, a rope can be pulled across the leaves to shake off the mud on them and restore the green color of the leaves.

Apply recovery fertilizer as early as possible. Applying water and fertilizer to compensate for flood damage is a successful disaster-resistance experience accumulated over many years. During flooding, the vegetative organs of rice are damaged to varying degrees. After drainage, the plants resume growth and need large amounts of nutrients, and after drainage a relatively large amount of fertilizer is also lost. Therefore, recovery fertilizer should be applied promptly according to the condition of the seedlings. Recovery fertilizer is generally applied 3 days after the water recedes; the fertilizer should be mainly quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer, with 8-10 kg of urea applied per mu, together with potassium fertilizer, with 7.5-10 kg of potassium chloride applied per mu. Potassium fertilizer can not only enhance the rice's lodging resistance and disease resistance, but also improve rice quality. For paddy fields with a short flooding time and light damage, the amount of fertilizer applied can be somewhat less; for some paddy fields with a long flooding time and severe damage, it should be appropriately increased, but it must be applied lightly several times to prevent excessive fertilization at one time, which can cause fertilizer damage and injure the seedlings. While applying recovery fertilizer, a high-efficiency foliar fertilizer can be sprayed to promote rapid recovery of plant growth.

Strengthen water and slurry management. After drainage, on the basis of the floating mud in the paddy field having settled, adhere to the principle of alternating dry and wet, and irrigate fresh water intermittently, which can not only maintain soil aeration and enhance root vitality, but also meet the water needs of the rice seedlings.