Summer harvest little affected by El Nino heavy rainfall
Right now, China has entered its main flood season, with heavy rainfall striking frequently. Reporters learned from meteorological, water conservancy and other departments that this rainfall influenced by the El Nino phenomenon may continue to develop, and the flood situation is complex and changeable. However, the rainfall in some areas at present will not have a major impact on the summer harvest and agricultural production in the period ahead.
Hou Yingyu, deputy director of the Agricultural Meteorology Center of the National Meteorological Center, said, “At present, the El Nino phenomenon has basically no impact on China's main summer grain producing areas. During the summer harvest period, most areas had mostly fine weather, and the maturity, harvest and drying of summer harvest grain and oil crops progressed smoothly overall.”
Regarding the large-scale heavy rainfall process in the south, experts said that the rain areas of multiple rounds of heavy rainfall overlap to a certain extent, and sustained heavy rainfall weather will lead to excessively wet soil in the rain areas and worsening waterlogging disasters in farmland, adversely affecting early rice at the booting and heading-flowering stages, as well as the growth and development of upland crops such as cotton and corn. Areas with frequent rainfall should promptly carry out drainage and waterlogging and waterlogging-related reduction, and early rice producing areas in Jiangnan should strengthen pest and disease monitoring and control work.
According to forecasts by meteorological experts, in June precipitation in southern Jiangnan and most of South China will still be 20 to 50 percent above normal. In response, agricultural departments will do a good job in managing crops in the field such as corn, early rice and middle rice, implement management measures such as topdressing fertilizer to promote seedling growth, and promote the recovery of affected crops. At the same time, they will strengthen pest and disease monitoring, promptly carry out prevention and control, ensure the normal growth and development of crops in the field, and make every effort to ensure a bumper grain harvest for the whole year.