Pest and disease prevention and control reduce disasters and losses, boosting the eleventh consecutive increase in grain output

“Drought breeds insects, damp breeds disease”; the climate is unpredictable, and pests and diseases occur every year. This year's climate changes have caused biological disasters such as pests and diseases to occur frequently and severely. Agricultural departments at all levels, with a high degree of self-awareness and firm confidence, have never relaxed their grip on pest and disease prevention and control, “snatching grain from the mouths of insects” to ensure a bumper harvest, playing an important role in achieving the “eleventh consecutive increase” in grain output.

Accurate monitoring and early warning. Based on climate changes and crop growth and development processes, 1029 national regional monitoring stations for major pests and diseases were organized to intensify monitoring in source areas of major pests and diseases, migration and epidemic transition zones, and areas of perennial severe outbreak, to grasp pest and disease dynamics early and issue forecast and early warning information in a timely manner, guiding effective and scientific prevention and control in all localities.

Early work deployment. In response to the trends of pest and disease occurrence in spring and autumn this year, on the basis of strengthened monitoring, the “Action to Prevent Diseases and Control Pests for a Bumper Summer Grain and Oil Harvest” and the “Action to Prevent Diseases and Control Pests for a Bumper Autumn Grain Harvest” were organized and carried out, with extensive mobilization, classified guidance, and regional advancement, going all out to fight the battle against diseases and pests, effectively reducing pest and disease damage. In particular, in response to the continuous rainy weather in the Jianghuai region in April and May this year and the possibility of an outbreak and epidemic of fusarium head blight, relevant provinces were organized to monitor early, warn early, and prevent and control early, effectively curbing the outbreak and epidemic of fusarium head blight. The good quality of summer-harvested wheat this year was importantly due to the light damage from fusarium head blight and the relatively low rate of diseased grains and ears.

Solid prevention and control measures. During the critical period of pest and disease occurrence, the Ministry of Agriculture successively issued technical plans for the prevention and control of major pests and diseases in major crops such as wheat, rice, and corn, organized 100 experts to carry out roving guidance, and vigorously implemented key prevention and control measures. On-site prevention and control meetings were held by region and by area, vigorously promoting key technologies such as autumn sowing seed dressing and “one spray, three preventions.” For wheat fusarium head blight and rice blast, “active attack, spray at flowering (booting)” preventive control measures were implemented, effectively curbing large-scale occurrence and epidemic. For wheat aphids and the rice “two migrations” pests, measures of “moving the threshold forward, suppressing the early to control the later” were implemented, effectively reducing the risk of sudden damage in the later period.

Widespread unified prevention and control. The “hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands” action for specialized unified prevention and control was carried out in depth, and 218 demonstration zones integrating specialized unified prevention and control with green prevention and control were established, demonstrating and driving large-scale unified prevention and control, effectively improving the efficiency, effectiveness, and benefits of pest and disease prevention and control. According to statistics, this year the area of specialized unified prevention and control for wheat, rice, and corn pests and diseases was 1.03 billion mu-times, with a coverage rate of 30%, an increase of 5 percentage points over the previous year; in the demonstration zones integrating unified prevention and control with green prevention and control, the amount of chemical pesticides used decreased by 20%-30%.

Strong support. This year, the central government continued to implement the subsidy policies for wheat “one spray, three preventions” and unified prevention and control of major crop pests and diseases, with a cumulative investment of 2.35 billion yuan, strongly supporting the smooth implementation of prevention and control work for major pests and diseases such as wheat fusarium head blight, aphids at the ear stage, the rice “two migrations” pests, and rice blast.

In the “Prevent Diseases and Control Pests for a Bumper Harvest” action, local governments at all levels successively increased policy support. While preventing disasters and reducing losses, they focused on promoting the transformation of prevention and control methods from household-by-household “people carrying machines on their backs” to specialized and socialized prevention and control. Among them, Zhejiang Province fully implemented subsidies for unified prevention and control of rice pests and diseases, at a standard of 40 yuan per mu; Jiangsu Province allocated 35 million yuan specifically for labor subsidies for unified prevention and control of rice pests and diseases; in addition, Shandong, Henan, Hunan, and other provinces have included agricultural aviation plant protection machinery in the scope of provincial-level agricultural machinery purchase subsidies.