Initial results achieved in the research on green yield-increasing models for rapeseed

The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River are an important rapeseed production area in China. In recent years, in accordance with the deployment and requirements of the Ministry of Agriculture for carrying out regional research on yield-increasing models, the Hubei Provincial Department of Agriculture, together with the agricultural departments of Hunan, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Sichuan and other provinces, has strengthened collaboration and jointly carried out research, with expert teams led by Academician Fu Tingdong and Academician Guan Chunyun participating throughout and providing meticulous guidance, achieving positive progress in rapeseed variety breeding, mechanized operations, model innovation and other aspects.

First, new breakthroughs have been made in breeding “early-maturing, three-high” varieties. In the rice-rice-rapeseed triple-cropping areas of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, breeding rapeseed varieties with a short growth period, high yield and good quality is the focus of the research on yield-increasing models. Huazhong Agricultural University, in cooperation with Wuhan Liannong Seed Industry Technology Co., Ltd., bred the early-maturing, high-quality rapeseed variety Shengguang 127, which passed the Hubei provincial approval in 2014. This variety is a semi-winter cabbage-type hybrid rapeseed that meets the double-low standard, with an oil content of 45.8%. It is a lower-middle branching type with relatively strong lodging resistance. Its growth period is 205 days, about 40 days shorter than ordinary rapeseed varieties, and its per-mu yield in regional trials can reach 200 kg, making it suitable for planting in rice-rice-rapeseed triple-cropping areas. In addition, early-maturing combinations such as Huazao 291 and 420 have performed well in Hubei, Hunan and other places and are expected to pass approval.

Second, new results have been achieved in the key links of mechanical transplanting and mechanical harvesting. Solving the problem of low mechanical transplanting and harvesting rates for rapeseed is the key to reducing labor intensity and improving planting efficiency. The rapeseed blanket seedling mechanical transplanting technology developed by experts not only produces seedlings whose roots form a blanket, with high density and short, sturdy growth, meeting the requirements of mechanical transplanting, but also achieves integrated operations of seedling pickup, carrying, seedling release, soil entry, planting, soil covering and watering. Transplanting efficiency is high, with 30-40 mu able to be transplanted per day, 60 times that of manual transplanting. Through technical improvements to combine harvesters, the rapeseed harvest loss rate has been controlled at 8%, and operating efficiency can reach 5 mu per hour.

⟦NL> Third, new progress has been made in demonstrating high-yield and high-efficiency models. Hubei Province has integrated and assembled green yield-increasing technical models such as rapeseed-rice-rice, rapeseed-middle rice-ratoon rice, and green manure rapeseed-double-season rice high-yield cultivation. Jiangxi Province has carried out demonstrations of different technical models in rice-rapeseed areas, including mechanical ditching, no-till direct seeding and mechanical harvesting; mechanical precision seeding and harvesting; mechanical ditching, direct seeding and mechanical harvesting in rice-rice-rapeseed areas; interplanting (interplanted transplanting) in cotton fields with mechanical harvesting; and dryland plowing, direct seeding and mechanical harvesting. The annual yield-increasing technical model for rice and rapeseed carried out in Jiangsu Province not only achieved high yields in both seasons, but also combined farming with soil maintenance, achieving good economic and ecological benefits.

Fourth, new results have been achieved in the cooperative and linked working mechanism. All localities have actively explored working mechanisms for broad cooperation and collaboration among agriculture, science and education sectors to jointly advance research on green yield-increasing models. Hubei Province has adopted the method of experts leading teams and projects carrying funding, with agricultural departments and experts jointly carrying out a fully mechanized production demonstration of ten thousand mu of rapeseed, and has held mechanical direct seeding competitions, effectively promoting the integration of agricultural machinery and agronomy. At the same time, the five provinces in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River have carried out interprovincial joint research, strengthening technical exchanges, organizing on-site observations and accelerating the transformation of results in aspects such as variety breeding and improvement, cultivation model innovation and supporting machinery research and development, achieving resource sharing and complementary advantages in talent, information and technology, and pushing research on green yield-increasing models for rapeseed to a higher level.