Hau Giang, the cradle of the rice strain 504

The history of developing rice cultivation in the Mekong Delta in the period of Green Revolution was always attached to the names of outstanding rice strains at the times. These rice strains helped the farmers reach the peaks of rice production despite all kinds of difficulties caused by pests – especially rice plant brown back hoppers, contributing to the wonder of Nine Dragon Land, making Vietnam a rice power in the international market.

*Cultivation in 2 decades – is the rice strain 504 meritorious or sinful?

In nearly 2 decades of the period 1990 – 2010, rice strain 504 appeared and contributed to the steady growths in increasing food production in the region. Despite the fact that the name of 504 has become a worry for agricultural administrators at different levels, as well as for the farmers at the beginning of each crop in the last few years, it can be affirmed that, so far, apart from having low quality grain, there are no other rice strains gathering in itself a number of good properties: minimum growing time, growing in all crop times of the year, strong pest resistant, easy to be tended, superior productivity.

Originating from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the rice strain 504 (its original name is IR50404 – 57 – 2 – 2 – 3) entered Vietnam in 1990 when the brown back hopper epidemic and rice grassy stunt disease were rampant causing heavy losses in the rice fields especially where Than Nong 108 was mostly planted. To cope with the epidemic, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development at that time assembled forces from scientific organizations to work out a national program against brown back hoppers and rice grassy stunt disease. From the winter-spring crop of 1990-1991, a comprehensive breeding program to select a new rice strain against the epidemic was carried out in the whole region. A group of experimental rice strains gathered from various sources were planted in different localities. IR50404, one of these rice strains, was sent by IRRI to a number of scientific organizations in Vietnam as well as in other countries under the program to test international rice strains to select appropriate one for each locality.

Right from the first experiment, IR50404 showed its superior properties, especially brown back hopper resistance, a precious property at that time. These superior properties appeared synchronously in almost all the experiments and were accepted easily in all localities. Therefore, while the testing and breeding were carried out continuously in the later crops, the IR50404 seed from experiment of that winter-spring crop was soon multiplicated by the scientific bodies from the 1991 autumn summer crop and the following crops afterward. On the suggestion of the Southern Agricultural Scientific Institute, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development decided promptly to issue a certificate to this rice strain on May 21st, 1992.

With these outstanding properties, IR50404 has quickly been planted more widely and become a main rice strain in many provinces with the annual cultivation area of millions of hectares in the Mekong Delta. According to the official statistics about the using of rice strains in several years given out by the National Strain Experimental Center, IR50404 always ranked first in terms of cultivation areas, number of crops in the year. Thus, the rice strain 504 is clearly more meritorious than the previous well-known rice strains such as: IR8, 73/2, IR36, TN108 … not only in agronomic properties, productivity, cultivated area, but also in the period of cultivation in nearly 2 decades so far.

According to the law of nature, the time of planting the rice strain 504 in the Land of Nine Dragons has come to an end. The crises of rice overproduction recently have changed the strain 504 into a sinful strain because of its low quality grain. The agricultural sector has recently implemented a great deal of programs to limit and quickly reduce the planting of the strain 504 in almost all places. In the 2008 autumn summer crop, in the Mekong Delta, the area of the strain 504 was only about half a million hectares, accounting for 30% of rice cultivation. In the 2009 autumn summer crop, according to the statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the whole region planted 210,000 hectares of the strain 504, making up 18% of rice cultivation areas. However, from the same source of information, the area of the strain 504 is still large in many places: Dong Thap province 32.2%, Tien Giang province 28%, Kien Giang province 25%. Moreover, this ratio in Cai Be, Cai Lay (in Tien Giang province) is over 40%, Duc Hue (Long An province) 50%, O Mon district (Can Tho city) 73%. The replacing of the strain 504 cannot be implemented soon simply because there are still no other new rice strains superior to the strain 504. As long as the rice with high ratio of broken grain is required by the export market, the farmers cannot ignore this strain 504.

* Story to be told only now

The truth not many people know so far is that Hau Giang province was the official place to receive, multiply, popularize the strain 504. The strain 504 has been present in the Mekong Delta for over 19 years, including 15 consecutive years when the strain 504 was used for millions of hectares of rice cultivation. It can be said that the majority of this rice cultivation originates from seeds sown, grown, multiplied in the land of Hau Giang.

Indeed, while the regional agricultural scientific bodies have known IR50404 since only the 1991 summer-autumn crop, in the early May of 1990, Doctor R.Hargrove, the head of IRRI’s Information Center, handed 5 kilograms of IR50404, produced and packed at IRRI, to Mr. Tu Rang, Vice President of Vi Thanh District’s People’s Committee at that time. At the ceremony to grant this rice strain, Doctor R.Hargrove says, this is the best rice strain IRRI has at present and as far as he knows about rice cultivation in Vietnam, this is the rice strain Vietnam badly needs.

In the time of wide-spread brown back hopper epidemic in the years of 1990-1992, while the scientific bodies and other provinces hurried to produce the strain 504 only from 1991 autumn- winter crop and 1991-1992 winter-spring crop, Hau Giang had in its hand a large amount of this precious rice seed, 45 crops earlier than other localities.

• Why does Hau Giang have this lucky opportunity?

Thomas Hargrove is an American who comes from Texas and graduated in both agriculture and press. During the time of doing his military service in Vietnam (from 1969 to 1970), he worked in Vi Thanh with his group for supporting the local agriculture. With his speciality, he often frequented rural areas, met many local peasants and helped them with a lot of new rice varieties at the time. This voluntary benefaction aroused the liking of many local peasants, which made him overcome difficulties and danger that he mentioned in his published books about Vietnam.

In 1973, Hargrove continued his wish to join the international Rice Research Institute where he was in charge of disseminating scientific technical information on rice production to the world until 1992. In 1988, as an expert of IRRI, Hargrove went to Vietnam and visited Vi Thanh and still deeply attached to this land. He returned to Vi Thanh one more time in May 1990, he went with his wife and presented Vi Thanh a special gift that is a IR50404 rice sack.

In addition, after leaving IRRI, Hargrove moved to the similar Centre of International Agriculture Tropic (CIAT) in Colombia (South of America). In his research here, he was kidnapped by rebels for a ransom in September 1994 and was detained for over 11 months. He now lives in Dallas, Texas. Hargrove’s wife Susan who went to Vietnam with him in 1990 has just died on October 27, 2009.

For 504 rice sack, though it had been received from the beginning of Autumn Summer crop in 1990, it was just cultivated in Spring Winter crop in 1990 and 1991 in Vi Thanh commune. At the end of the crop with the results of test rice variety made by scientific agencies, all production were harvested and transferred to the Lower Mekong Delta Farm for quick multiplication from the beginning of Autumn Summer crop in 1991. The 504 rice variety together with tens of thousands tons of other rice varieties were supplied by the Lower Mekong Delta Farm to localities annually, which contributes to ensure food, warmth, peace and happiness to every household and makes the country richer and more beautiful.

Why is this story told until now? Mr. Ha Trieu Hiep who was the Thomas Hargrove’s guide and was the witness for transferring the saving rice variety to Hau Giang and was the man finding the precious variety to bring from Hau Giang to the Lower Mekong Delta Farm for variety multiplication and supply to localities says that: “on these days when the press mentions much information about the Lower Mekong Delta Farm, I have a feeling that I must tell the distribution of Tom, the Lower Mekong Delta Farm and 504 variety. The one-time distribution does not only supply enough food but also to improve the image of Vietnam in the world. At the present, this granary is considered as the world’s.

For a wonder, there is a sudden-change rice variety which has many advantages of IR50404 and starts to be cultivated in Hau Giang land. It is BN (Bay Ngan) variety.

For over 50 years, the western region field continues receiving the high-yield rice varieties in which the beginning ones are Than Nong 8, 20 and the varieties the farmers could not forget such as IR26, Than Nong 73/2 in the period of 1973 to 1976; IR36, Long Dinh 2 in the following years. IR64, MT58, Than Nong 108 (IR2307-108) and IR50404 are the ones that were exported to the world at the end of 1980 decade of the previous century.

Adapted by www.baohaugiang.com.vn