What are the benefits of loach to rice growth? Does loach affect rice growth?

I think it is a bit exaggerated to say that there are too many loaches in farmland. Even in the 1980s when there were the most wild eels and loaches in rural areas, there was no record of loaches becoming a disaster. And even if loaches are harmful to farmland, it is mainly because they can drill countless small holes in the ridges, which makes it easy for water in the farmland to leak away, but it has no effect on the growth of rice. On the contrary, the large number of loaches in the farmland indicates that the environment in the field is good.

What are the benefits of loach to rice growth?

1. A large number of loaches live in rice fields, constantly turning over and moving in the mud at the roots of rice. The objective effect of this is that they act as a rotary tiller, loosening the soil, making the mud breathable, and facilitating the growth of rice.

2. Loaches generally eat small zooplankton and small particles of organic matter. Therefore, many pests in rice fields, such as rice planthoppers, fleas and other planktonic insects, are naturally eaten by loaches, which not only eliminates harm to the rice fields, but also purifies the water quality of the rice fields.

3. When loaches move in rice fields, they excrete a large amount of feces, which are natural and pollution-free farm organic fertilizers for rice. It is directly equivalent to applying base fertilizer and topdressing to rice for a long time, while avoiding the side effects of excessive ammonia nitrogen produced by the use of chemical fertilizers.

The only bad effect that loaches have on the growth of rice in rice fields is that the roots of the rice are unstable when it is just transplanted, and the loaches may cause the seedlings to collapse and fall over when rolling in the mud. However, there is a way to deal with this, which is to transplant the seedlings manually, so that the seedlings can penetrate deep into the mud and are not easy to fall over.

Summarize:

Therefore, the large number of loaches moving around in rice fields is definitely a good thing and a gift from nature. Don't hesitate, just use a water float to catch them, or drain the water and then catch the loaches with your hands.

Does loach affect rice growth?

Loaches have very strong adaptability to the environment and reproduction capabilities. Under normal conditions, having a moderate number of loaches living in rice fields has many benefits to the rice fields, because loaches can loosen the soil, improve the soil pH, and eat some pests in the farmland. The loach's excrement can also provide nutrients to the rice.

However, if loaches over-breed and cause flooding, it will have a certain impact on rice fields. Although loaches usually only eat some pests, if food is scarce, loaches will also choose to attack rice seedlings, chewing the roots of rice seedlings and causing rice to die. In addition, excessive loach excrement will lead to excess nutrients in the rice fields, and rice will develop rice seedling disease, causing rice plants to grow wildly but not produce ears, which greatly affects crop yields.

What to do with rice due to loach overrunning

The rampant infestation of loaches in farmland has indeed had a serious impact on rice. There are many ways to solve this problem, but the most economically valuable way is to raise two laying ducks per acre to ensure a bumper rice harvest and have eggs to eat all year round.

Ducks are omnivorous aquatic animals with strong digestive ability. As the saying goes, "chicken and duck eggs, exchange for rice", but ducks prefer to eat live food, especially small fish, shrimp, eel, loach and other protein-rich foods, so that the egg production rate of ducks is quite high, because the protein of duck eggs ultimately comes from protein food. It is advisable to have 2 laying ducks per mu. Too much or too little is not conducive to the balance of the food chain of rice, loach and ducks. Only by maintaining a good small ecological environment can a virtuous cycle of mutual benefit and mutual benefit be achieved. It is worth noting that when the rice is ripe, ducks should be controlled from entering the rice fields to avoid affecting the maturity and yield of rice and millet.

In fact, agriculture is an interdisciplinary subject. Only by making comprehensive use of human, material and financial resources and making reasonable arrangements and plans can the production efficiency of agriculture be improved.