Dong Thap (VNS/VNA) - The Mekong Deltaprovince of Dong Thap plans to release floodwaters into 90,200ha of rice fieldsin this year’s rainy season to fertilise the soil and flush away rice diseasepathogens.

The fields will be inundated up to 40-80cm until mid-October,according to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.The waters deposit sediments in fields.

This year, the flooding season began one month later thanusual because of the low rainfall in the Mekong River’s upper reaches, andwater began flowing into rice fields in upper areas in Dong Thap province, oneof the delta’s upstream provinces, only in early September.

Nguyen Phuoc Thien, deputy director of the department, saidin areas with reliable dykes, localities could release floodwaters into ricefields but have to do so safely and ensure fruit orchards and vegetable fieldsare not affected.

They should proactively implement measures like inspectingand repairing important dykes protecting paddies, sluice gates and pumpingstations to cope with floods and rains to protect crops, he said.

Nguyen Van Anh, a farmer in Hong Ngu district’s Thuong Thoi HauB commune, said: “Sediments make rice fields fertile and increase the riceyield in the next crop.”

But the floodwaters have inundated vegetables and short-termcrops that were planted in alluvial areas along rivers.

Pham Van Dao planted 1ha of papaya in Hong Ngu district’s ThuongThoi Tien town and it was inundated.

Locals thought the floods would not come this year and soplanted short-term crops like red chilli and papaya, he explained.

The floods came when the crops fruited, and damaged them, hesaid.

Hong Ngu district has 280ha of alluvial areas along the TienRiver, a tributary of the Mekong. Local authorities have warned farmers not togrow crops in the alluvial areas during the flood season.

But the floodwaters also bring fish and other aquatic speciesto provide a livelihood to many people.

The flooding season is also the harvest time for sesbaniasesban and water lily flowers, specialty flood-season foods.

Dang Van Duc of Hong Ngu district’s Thuong Thoi Hau A communesaid he and his wife can catch a few kilogrammes of Siamese mud carp, a floodspecialty, and dozens of kilogrammes of other small-sized fish every night.

They can earn 500,000-1 million VND (21-43 USD) a day fromthis, he said.

Traders buy Siamese mud carp for 80,000-100,000 VND akilogramme and other small-sized fishes for 6,000 VND.

The flooding in the upstream areas and rice fields this yearis less than normal, according to the Dong Thap Centre for Hydro-MeteorologyForecasting.

It is expected to peak at the end of this month and earlynext month, the centre added./.