Imsil-gun, Focuses on High-Quality Rice Production through Seed Disinfection Methods and Pesticide Use

Published 27 Apr.2023 14:32(KST)

The Agricultural Technology Center of Imsil-gun, Jeonbuk, announced on the 27th that it has begun agricultural guidance on proper rice seed disinfection methods and pesticide usage to produce healthy seedlings in preparation for the full-scale farming season.

Since government-supplied seeds are provided entirely as non-disinfected seeds to prevent pesticide misuse, it urged farmers to practice seed disinfection using carefully selected dry seeds to prevent diseases and pests transmitted through seeds, such as tall rice disease and rice leaf nematodes, which cause reduced rice yield and quality deterioration.

Imsil-gun Agricultural Technology Center has started agricultural guidance on proper rice seed disinfection methods and pesticide usage to produce healthy seedlings in time for the farming season.
[Photo by Imsil-gun]

Seed disinfection methods include hot water disinfection and pesticide immersion disinfection. Hot water disinfection involves soaking 10 kg of rice seeds in 100 liters of water at 60℃ for 10 minutes, then immediately cooling them in cold water for 10 minutes. The water-to-seed ratio should be 10:1.

Pesticide immersion disinfection uses specialized pesticides for rice seed disinfection mixed with 20 liters of water, soaking 10 kg of rice seeds at a temperature of 30?32℃ for 48 hours using a rice seed germinator. To maximize pest control effectiveness, it is essential to follow the dilution ratio, pesticide solution temperature, and immersion time for each pesticide.

Combining hot water disinfection and pesticide immersion disinfection can achieve over 97% seed disinfection effectiveness. Therefore, farms that self-harvest seeds with concerns about disease occurrence, communal nurseries, and large-scale farms should conduct both hot water and pesticide immersion disinfection together.

Kim Ssang-su, director of the Agricultural Technology Center, said, “Even meticulous seed disinfection alone can prevent diseases and pests that directly affect rice yield, such as rice blast, sheath blight, tall rice disease, bacterial grain rot, and rice leaf nematodes. Therefore, we urge thorough seed disinfection for producing high-quality rice.”