Hampyeong-gun Provides On-Site Technical Support for Rice Seed Disinfection... The First Step Toward a Bountiful Harvest

"'Sogeummul Garigi' is essential for selecting quality rice seeds"

The Agricultural Technology Center of Hampyeong-gun, Jeollanam-do, has launched on-site technical support for proper rice seed disinfection as the main farming season begins.

According to the county on the 29th, disinfecting rice seeds is essential for this year's rice certified seeds. If supplied without disinfection, the seeds are exposed to diseases such as rice blast, sheath blight, and dirty panicle, requiring pest and disease control.

Hot water disinfection of rice seeds. [Photo by Hampyeong-gun]

Before seed disinfection, 'saltwater selection' should be used to pick out healthy rice seeds. For non-glutinous rice, soak in saltwater made with 4.24 kg of salt per 20 liters of water, and for glutinous rice, use 1.36 kg of salt per 20 liters of water, soaking for 3 to 10 minutes. Only the seeds that sink are rinsed and used. If the seed sorting condition is good, this process can be omitted.

Common methods for rice seed disinfection are hot water treatment and chemical soaking. For hot water treatment, place the rice seeds in a seed net and soak 20 kg of seeds in 200 liters of 60℃ water for 10 minutes, then treat with cold water. Care must be taken not to exceed the time as seeds can be damaged.

For chemical soaking disinfection, soak 20 kg of seeds in 40 liters of chemical solution at 30℃ for 24 to 48 hours to achieve high disinfection effectiveness. Disinfected seeds are soaked and germinated before sowing.

The optimal time to set up seedbeds in the Hampyeong area is from late April to early May, maintaining the nursery temperature around 25℃ during the day and 15℃ at night to grow strong seedlings.

Moon Jeong-mo, director of the Agricultural Technology Center, said, "Half of the year's farming success depends on seed disinfection and healthy seedling management," adding, "We will continue to strengthen on-site technical support for rice seedling management."