The benefits of rice cultivation 1 must 5 decrease

The 1 must 5 reduction model helps paddy fields reduce seed, fertilizer, treatment, water and post-harvest losses. When done right, plants are stronger, costs are lower and yields can increase by 5-20 percent.

Summary: "1 right, 5 less" is not a generic slogan. This is a set of techniques that help growers adjust the entire rice crop: use certified seeds, sow more sparsely, fertilize more moderately, limit crop-protection products, water sparingly and harvest properly. The most important point is to do it synchronously. Just reduce seeding but still over-fertilize with nitrogen, or just reduce crop-protection product but sow too thickly, the effect will be unclear.

Applies to: paddy fields for commodity production, especially in the Mekong Delta.

Duration: Follows throughout a crop, from seed selection to post-harvest.

Difficulty level: Medium. Need to change the habit of sowing and spraying early.

Estimated additional costs: Does not necessarily increase costs; largely reducing input costs.

"One must" is to use the same confirmation

The "must" in this model is must use validation breed. This is the foundation of the whole crop, because good varieties determine the evenness of the field from the beginning.

Confirmed varieties have some obvious benefits:

• High germination rate, plants grow evenly, less need to sow.
• Seedlings grow healthily and compete with grass better.
• Fields are uniform so fertilizing, spraying and harvesting are easier.
• Restricts mixed varieties, helps stabilize rice quality.
• Yields can increase by 5-20 percent compared to using long-season varieties or varieties from unknown sources.

Many fields fail not because the subsequent technology is too poor, but because from the beginning the varieties are not uniform. When the tree grows unevenly, some thick and some thin, future care steps are difficult to be precise.

Reduce 1: Reduce the amount of seeds sown

This is the most visible part but also the hardest to change. growers often sow thickly because they are afraid of losing plants, afraid of snails, and afraid of empty fields. But thick sowing makes the thatch plant bright, weak, and pests can easily break out.

The amount of seed you should aim for:

The goal of "1 must be 5 reductions" is to bring the seed amount to about 70-100 kg/ha when field conditions allow.

Sparse sowing helps rice plants:

• More effective branching.
• Get enough light and nutrition.
• Fewer pests and diseases due to well-ventilated fields.
• Less falling during the flowering — ripening stage.
• Reduce seed costs by 30-50 percent compared to thick sowing.

If you have just switched from thick sowing to sparse sowing, you should not reduce it too much in one season. Can be reduced step by step: from 150 kg/ha to 120 kg/ha, then to 100 kg/ha once you get used to managing water, snails and grass.

Reduction 2: Reduce fertilizer, especially excess nitrogen

Meiosis does not mean dropping stools. The correct idea is to fertilize at the right time, in the right amount, for the right needs of the rice plant and for the right type of soil.

With acidic soil, you need to pay attention to fertilizing with phosphorus:

• Light to moderate alkaline soil: 100-400 kg of phosphorus/ha depending on the alum level.
• Heavy alkaline soil: you can use 300-500 kg of fused phosphate/ha or 300-400 kg of lime/ha to improve the soil.

Three important times to fertilize:

• 7-12 days after sowing: first top dressing, helps plants turn green and branch early.
• 18-22 days after sowing: effective tillering.
• 40-45 days after sowing: fertilize before planting, decide the number of seeds and seed strength.

Do not fertilize when the field is too dry or deeply flooded. Dry fields make fertilizer difficult to dissolve and difficult for plants to absorb. Deeply flooded fields cause fertilizer loss, especially nitrogen fertilizer.

An easy sign of over-fertilization is dark green fields, soft leaves, and fast growing plants. The fields look beautiful at first but are susceptible to rice blast, brown planthoppers and collapse later.

Reduction 3: Reduce crop-protection products

Reducing crop-protection products means reducing habitual spraying, not giving up pest control. During the first 40 days after sowing, rice plants have the ability to recover quite well if the pest population has not exceeded the threshold. Spraying crop-protection products too early often kills natural enemies, and then the pests explode again more strongly.

Should prioritize:

• Visit fields regularly to know the true population of pests and diseases.
• Keep natural enemies such as spiders, ladybugs, and parasitic wasps.
• Apply IPM, only spray when pests exceed the threshold.
• Do not mix multiple drugs without clear recommendations.
• Don't spray just because the field next door has just been sprayed.

A field sown thinly, with moderate nitrogen fertilization and good water management usually requires less spraying than a field sown heavily. Therefore, drug reduction must be accompanied by seed reduction and meiosis.

Reduce 4: Reduce irrigation water

Rice plants need water, but it doesn't always need to be submerged deeply. Continuous flooding weakens roots, lacks oxygen in the soil and increases water pumping costs.

The common method is alternating wet and dry irrigation:

• Retain moisture well in the post-sowing period.
• Only give 3-5 cm of water when you need to control weeds or when plants need strong water.
• Let the field drain water naturally. When the field surface just cracks or the water level drops about 15 cm below the ground, water again.
• 7-15 days before harvest, drain water to dry the field and make it easier to put the machine in.

Reducing water helps:

• Reduce irrigation pumping costs.
• Limits toxins in the soil, reduces black roots.
• The roots go deeper, the tree stands firmer.
• The fields have fewer pests due to the well-ventilated environment.
• Nutrients in the soil are metabolized better.

To save water effectively, the embankment must be strong and the field surface needs to be relatively level. Fields that are too convex and uneven will have some areas that are too dry and others that are deeply flooded, making it very difficult to manage.

Reduction 5: Reduce post-harvest losses

Post-harvest losses are often overlooked, but in the Mekong Delta they can be around 10-13 percent. Losses come from many stages:

The appropriate time to harvest is when 85-90 percent of the seeds on the flower are yellow and the remaining seeds are firm. Harvesting too early produces many green seeds with low weight. Harvesting too late causes grain loss, falls, and increased rice breakage during milling.

To reduce losses:

• Drain water before harvesting so that the field is dry and the harvester can operate smoothly.
• Harvest at the right maturity level.
• Use a combine harvester when field conditions allow.
• Transport and dry early, avoid letting wet rice pile up for a long time.

How to deploy in a case

• [ ] Buy certified seeds, don't use fake seeds.
• [ ] Choose the target seed amount before sowing.
• [ ] Create flat land, manage snails and grass to confidently sow thinly.
• [ ] Fertilize in stages, avoid fertilizing nitrogen based on emotion.
• [ ] Do not spray early in the first 40 days if the threshold has not been reached.
• [ ] Irrigation alternately between flood and dry, drain water before harvest.
• [ ] Harvest when 85-90 percent of the seeds are yellow.

Common mistakes

Only do a part and then conclude that the model is not effective: for example, reducing seeds but still fertilizing high nitrogen, the field is still susceptible to pests and diseases.

Sparse sowing without good soil preparation: uneven field surface, many snails, and lots of grass will cause uneven plant density.

Excessive meiosis: plants lack nutrition, have poor tillering, and reduced productivity. Meiosis must depend on leaf color, soil and growth stage.

Spray preventive treatment right from the beginning of the season: destroys natural enemies, increases the risk of brown planthoppers and leaf rollers breaking out later.

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