On May 8, Viet Seed Co., Ltd (Vietseed) and households in Thanh Nga Village, Minh Tan Township (Hung Ha District) in Thai Binh organized an evaluation of the growth and viability, biomass productivity, pest and disease resistance of corn variety VS201 in the spring harvest 2023.
Ms. Hua Thi Kim Oanh from Thanh Nga Village, Minh Tan Township (Hung Ha District, Thai Binh) was thrilled when a sample of her family’s VS201 corn was very free of pests, particularly fall heartworm and stemborer. Picture: Trung Quan.
Cheerful atmosphere, laughter, lively exchanges mixed with the whispers of people witnessing with their own eyes the technical staff and households in the model that, despite the storm, collects the results of the indicators right on the field.
Ms. Hua Thi Kim Oanh (Than Nga Village, Minh Tan Municipality), who participated in the trial planting of 1 sample VS201 corn, cheerfully shared: Although it was the first year a new corn variety was planted, it was really of its growth convinces ability and development, especially resistance to the armyworm of this corn variety.
According to Ms. Oanh, this year’s spring corn harvest did not have favorable weather because there was little rain at the beginning of the harvest, leaving most of the corn teas in the area underdeveloped. However, the corn variety VS201 is still growing well, from seed to date it has been more than 3 months since it could be harvested for biomass corn. Corn plants have rich green leaves from base to tip. The random examination of the corn kernels showed a high level of uniformity, free from pests and fat content. Corn kernels with half horse teeth, spicy worms, characteristic bright yellow color…
Farmers in Minh Tan township said they had previously grown many different varieties of corn, but each variety was damaged by fall worms and stem borers. On average, 7-10 days, farmers need to prevent once, which takes a lot of labor and cost of buying pesticides. However, when planting VS201, there is almost no shadow of these two types of worms.
Many people in the area marveled at the corn field VS201. Picture: Trung Quan.
“Not only my family, but all the households that participated in the trial planting of VS201 corn were hesitant at first, but now everyone is laughing. Because of the rising prices of all kinds of inputs in recent years, coupled with the shortage of labor because young people have moved to industrial areas to work, so many households have left their fields empty. Now there is a pest-free corn variety that helps reduce maintenance and investment costs, so everyone is excited,” says Ms. Oanh.
Mr. Tran Van Hanh from the same Thanh Nga village could not hide his joy when the family’s 5 Sao VS201 corns turned green, so there was a farm asking to buy the whole stalk and corn for food.
“Having a corn variety that is both pest resistant and high yielding like VS201 is a corn grower’s fortune. Just because the farmers’ income is mainly based on the field, but they have to carry sprayers all day long, this is not a profit, but also a health hazard. In addition, the corn stalks and cobs are fat and the biomass productivity is high, so livestock farms are very interested, consumption is much easier, and the selling price is always at a high level,” said Mr. Hanh. .
Households weigh and test the weight of trees to calculate biomass yield at harvest. Picture: Trung Quan.
After the review, direct comparison and evaluation with other corn varieties grown in the area, most of those present could not help but be pleased with the results and indicators that VS201 has brought. Many people also joked that the Autumn Worm and the Stem Borer had reached a point where there was no living land and they could no longer act as monsters in the field as before.
According to Mr. Do Thanh Tung, director of Viet Seeds Co., Ltd., VS201 corn variety is being researched and hybridized by Maize Research Institute, Viet Seed Co., Ltd. is used exclusively. This corn variety has been authorized for traffic by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development since December 2019.
VS201 has an average early growing time of 95 – 115 days (depending on the season), broad adaptability and a lasting green leaf base until harvest. Actual cultivation in the field has proven that the variety is quite resistant to pests and diseases, especially fall armyworm (up to 95%) and produces a biomass yield equivalent to the best biomass corn varieties.
VS201 corn is not only pest and disease free and has a high biomass yield, but also a very good seed yield. Picture: Trung Quan.
According to the report on experimental results for evaluating the resistance of corn VS201 to fall armyworm and corn stemworm of the Institute of Plant Protection (Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences), after conducting an experiment to evaluate the reaction of corn VS201 to fall armyworm and corn stemworm : Corn variety VS201 has good resistance to fall armyworm and corn stem borer. Compared to the Davis and William, 1992 Severity Scale, the VS201 strains all achieved resistance and damage ratings of 3/9.