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This year's summer-autumn rice crop in Quang Ninh commune is facing a serious risk of reduced yield. Poor rice growth, yellowing leaves, scorching, and empty panicles are appearing in many areas, causing people to worry about a failed harvest. Many people believe that the disease is due to the saline contamination of the water used for production.

Although it was almost noon, a considerable number of farmers remained in the rice fields of Van La village, tending to their crops. The bustling atmosphere of the harvest season, as in previous years, was absent; worry was evident on the faces of the farmers. Pulling up a rice plant in the field, Mr. Le Van Ninh shook his head and said, “With the roots turning black like this, how can the plant grow normally and produce firm, even grains? Even if we harvest now, we'll only be salvaging some of the effort, fertilizer, and seeds we invested. This season, the farmers have essentially lost everything.”

Mr. Ninh added that this year, his family planted 8.5 hectares of rice during the summer-autumn season. However, the entire area is experiencing the same problem. During the tillering and heading stages, some of the leaves are turning yellow and drying out. The rice panicles are shriveled, many are burnt and dry, and have turned white. He fears that after harvesting all 8.5 hectares, they won't even get 200 kg of rice. In previous years, with the same area, the average yield per sao (approximately 1000 square meters) was 200 kg or more.

Looking at the entire 6 sao (approximately 0.6 hectares) of rice fields covered in a dry, yellow hue, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thang from Van La village mused: “Never before has my family's rice crop, or that of other villagers, been in such a state. The rice grew normally when first sown, but during the heading and tillering stages, some of the leaves turned yellow and gradually dried out. The rice grains were shriveled and almost entirely dried out. The cost of fertilizer and machinery to cultivate these 6 sao was 5 million dong, but with this situation, I don't know if we'll even be able to recoup our investment after the harvest.”

Faced with rice diseases, many villagers decided to harvest their crops early to salvage some of their labor, fertilizer, and expenses. Even though her three plots of rice weren't fully ripe, Mrs. Le Thi Thuan decided to call a combine harvester. While waiting for the machine, Mrs. Thuan explained: "If we don't harvest early, the weaker plants will easily fall over, and the rice ears will dry out, further reducing the yield. We'll use whatever grains we can get; if not, we'll use them as animal feed."

The problem of rice crops being affected by salinity and drying out is still present in many rice fields of the villagers in Luong Yen and Le Ky hamlets. While weeding in her field, Ms. Le Thi Lanh from Luong Yen hamlet pointed to the sparsely planted rice fields and said: “These are the places where the rice died after being sown for a while. Where I replanted, the plants grew, but when it came to the flowering stage, most of the grains were empty and dried out. Many ears of rice turned white and dry. In previous years, the summer-autumn crop yielded the highest productivity. My entire 3.5 acres of rice fields yielded about 1 ton of rice. But this year, I hope to have enough rice to eat, but even that will be difficult.”

According to residents of Luong Yen, Van La, and Le Ky villages, the root rot, leaf drying, empty panicles, and wilting of rice plants are believed to be related to the water pumped into the fields during the summer-autumn crop season. Residents suggest the water shows signs of salinity contamination, as areas using this water source have experienced poor rice growth, many plants dying, and significantly reduced yields. However, the exact cause of this situation still requires investigation, sampling, and specific assessment by relevant authorities.

Reportedly, in the 2026 summer-autumn crop season, Quang Ninh commune planted approximately 696 hectares of rice. However, about 196 hectares were affected by disease, mainly concentrated in Luong Yen, Van La, and Le Ky villages.

Regarding this issue, the Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Ninh commune, Le Anh Tuan, said: After receiving the information, the commune, together with representatives from the Department of Agriculture and Environment, held a meeting and conducted an inspection to assess the production situation and the damage suffered by the farmers. The commune is still awaiting the conclusion from the relevant authorities regarding the cause of the rice disease. Once the reason is known, the commune will develop a plan for appropriate handling and support.

Source : vietnam