El Niño Arrives: Responding Scientifically to Achieve Stable Grain Output and Increased Income

The bulk of the year's grain production lies in the autumn grain, and the key to securing a bumper harvest lies in disaster prevention and mitigation. As the main flood season has now arrived, in order to actively and effectively respond to the El Niño phenomenon and safeguard autumn grain production, the Ministry of Agriculture recently issued the "Plan for Scientifically Responding to El Niño to Achieve Disaster Resistance and a Bumper Harvest" to guide scientific disaster prevention and mitigation.——Editor

South China: Preventing Flood Disasters

Strengthen guidance and services. In light of flood disasters and crop growth and development progress, organize experts to formulate technical guidance for field management, guide all localities to scientifically regulate fertilizer and water according to local conditions and crop seedlings, and implement early measures to increase fertilizer application and promote early maturity. Through applying tillering fertilizer at the seedling stage to promote rapid development, and spraying grain-filling fertilizer and plant growth regulators at the heading and flowering stage to promote full heading, promote early development and rapid growth. Reasonably control water and seedlings, ensuring there is water for heading at the mid-growth stage and alternating dry and wet conditions at the late stage to plump the grains.

Go all out to defend against floods. Closely monitor major weather changes, strengthen communication and consultation with meteorological, water conservancy and other departments, and implement flood prevention and drainage measures early. The focus is on clearing and dredging farmland drainage channels, early inspection and maintenance of flood-control agricultural machinery and equipment, and timely adjustment and dispatch of diesel, water pumps and other disaster relief materials to ensure the needs of flood fighting and emergency rescue.

Help disaster victims carry out production self-rescue. According to the degree of flood damage and adverse effects, coordinate with finance and other departments to implement agricultural disaster relief funds and help affected farmers carry out production self-rescue. The focus is on quickly draining accumulated water from flooded fields, quickly repairing disaster-damaged farmland, inspecting seedlings, washing seedlings and supporting seedlings, strengthening fertilizer and water management, spraying foliar fertilizer, and promoting growth recovery. For fields with total crop failure due to waterlogging, promptly replant and reseed, promote "flood-regenerated rice", restore production as soon as possible, and reduce disaster losses.

⟦NL> Go all out to prevent and control disease and insect damage. Strengthen monitoring and early warning of major diseases and insects such as the rice "two migrations" pests, and vigorously advance unified prevention and control. For severely affected areas, implement inter-regional joint prevention and control and mass prevention and mass treatment, achieving early warning and early control, and resolutely curbing outbreaks and epidemics.

North China: Preventing Summer and Dog-Day Drought

Promote normal growth of summer-sown crops. In response to the delayed sowing period in North China and other summer-sowing regions this year, guide all localities to strengthen seedling-stage fertilizer and water regulation to promote normal growth and development.

Implement agronomic soil moisture conservation measures early. According to drought conditions and water source conditions, scientifically guide drought resistance and implement key agronomic drought-resistance technologies. For fields with irrigation conditions, adopt shallow intertillage after irrigation to cut off soil surface capillaries and reduce evaporation; for fields without irrigation conditions, wait for rain to store water and adopt intertillage and high hilling measures to reduce soil evaporation and increase soil water storage. At the same time, implement chemical control and humidity-increasing measures, spray drought-resistant and water-retaining agents on leaves to increase plant drought resistance. Urea, potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution, or superphosphate and plant ash extract can also be used for continuous multiple sprays to increase moisture in the plant ear, cool and humidify, provide necessary water and nutrients for leaves, and improve grain plumpness.

Implement drought-resistance measures such as watering according to local conditions. Inspect and maintain irrigation facilities in advance, strengthen drought monitoring. Once the drought develops and spreads, in fields with irrigation conditions, take all measures to concentrate limited water sources for watering and protecting seedlings, and promote water-saving irrigation technologies such as sprinkler irrigation, drip irrigation, ridge irrigation, and alternate ridge irrigation. In places with insufficient water sources, use water pipes or water bags for irrigation to expand the irrigated area and reduce drought losses.

Northeast China: Preventing Periodic Low Temperatures and Early Frost

Strengthen field management to promote growth. For dryland crops such as corn and potatoes, make deep loosening and hilling an important measure to capture accumulated temperature and prevent weed damage, give full play to the role of machinery, speed up hilling, hill more and more often, and accelerate crop growth and development. For paddy field crops, implement shallow-water irrigation, adhere to thin water and frequent irrigation, dry the field to raise temperature, scientifically apply tillering fertilizer, promote more and rapid effective tillering, and increase the number of harvestable ears.

Apply topdressing at the right time to promote early maturity. Apply topdressing early at the right time. For corn at the 6-7 leaf stage, combine with hilling to apply 15-20 kg of urea per mu, using side-deep topdressing, 10-12 cm to the side and 10-15 cm deep. At the jointing stage of corn and rice and the initial flowering stage of soybean, promptly spray urea and potassium dihydrogen phosphate to accelerate growth and development and promote early maturity. For fields sown late, emerging late, or reseeded after destruction, apply fertilizer in advance, increase the number of fertilizer applications, and promote the transformation and upgrading of seedling conditions.

Comprehensive measures to prevent early frost. At the late growth stage, promptly stand stalks, peel back husks and sun-dry to accelerate booting and grain dehydration, reduce grain moisture content, and promote rapid ripening. Prepare materials and technology for preventing early frost early. Once early frost occurs, quickly carry out artificial smoke fumigation to prevent frost and effectively reduce the impact of early frost. For crops affected by light frost, follow the principle of "do not harvest until severe frost comes", guide the people not to rush to harvest and thresh, harvest appropriately late, promote after-ripening, and improve yield and quality.