The Harvest Story of a Great Granary: Large Agricultural Machinery Makes Farming More Efficient

In late September on the Sanjiang Plain, the earth is draped in gold and the sky is clear. Rumbling large machines travel along the roads and through the fields, showing the bold spirit of the “main force” of the autumn harvest. “This year's harvest is better than in previous years.” Everywhere they went, most farmers gave this answer, with excitement written on their faces.

This is a harvest season that has greatly inspired the farmers on the black soil. According to a release from the Heilongjiang Provincial Agricultural Commission, this year the province's grain production is expected to achieve an especially large harvest and realize “eleven consecutive increases”; the Heilongjiang General Bureau of State Farms released news that the total grain output of the reclamation area is expected to exceed the target of 43 billion jin, also achieving the goal of “eleven consecutive increases.”

The great granary will make new contributions to safeguarding national food security. Such results are due to favorable weather, and even more to agricultural science and technology, agricultural machinery, and new types of operating entities taking root and flourishing on this fertile land.

Intelligent seedling cultivation produces strong seedlings and captures accumulated temperature

“This year's rice yield was 10.18 tons per hectare, an increase of nearly half a ton over last year.” Zhang Guojun is a worker at the Second Operation Station of the Fifth Management District of Friendship Farm of Heilongjiang State Farms. Nearly half of the 12 hectares of rice he planted has been harvested, and as soon as it was hauled to the drying yard, grain merchants took a liking to it and bought it. Zhang Guojun said: “The high rice yield and good quality would not be possible without the intelligent seedling cultivation promoted by the farm.”

Grain growers all know that good seedlings mean half a year's grain. In the past, farmers all used “large vat soaking” and “kang-top warming” to accelerate rice germination, which led to late seedling cultivation and weak seedlings. “The intelligent seed soaking and germination acceleration workshop can control growth conditions such as temperature and humidity. Seedlings raised in greenhouses are strong, and after being transplanted into the field they need no recovery period and can grow quickly. It can also advance the seedling cultivation time and capture accumulated temperature.” Zhang Guojun said.

⟦NL> In Huanchuan County, Jiamusi, Yu Bo, director of the county agriculture bureau, said: “Intelligent seedling cultivation is the key to stable and increased rice production in recent years. For this reason, government subsidies are very strong, with a subsidy of 200,000 yuan for each germination acceleration workshop and 8,400 yuan for greenhouses. At present, among the county's 1.3 million mu of rice, 1 million mu has achieved intelligent seedling cultivation, and this year it is expected to achieve full coverage.”

“This year all rice was sown during the high-yield period. Rice shed covering was completed on March 23, seedling cultivation was completed on April 23, and transplanting was completed on May 25. The province's 846,000 rice seedling greenhouses and 1,023 large intelligent germination acceleration workshops played an important role, laying a solid foundation for the harvest.” said a relevant person in charge of the Heilongjiang Provincial Agricultural Commission.

In fact, intelligent seedling cultivation is only one of the measures for increasing production through science and technology. In promoting high-yield grain creation and tackling key production-increasing technologies, cultivation techniques such as maize ventilated cultivation and rice pot-body placement transplanting have been promoted and diffused over large areas. The area of soil testing and formulated fertilization further expanded, reaching 95 million mu in the province, an increase of 5 million mu over the previous year. With high technological content, production increases have strong support.

Regarding this, Wang Tieren, a skilled grain grower from Lalajie Village, Chuangye Township, Huanchuan County, has deep personal experience. This year is his first year using pot-body placement transplanting technology to grow rice. “This technology can achieve precision transplanting, uses less seed, has good tillering, and has a high survival rate, so no replanting is needed. This year production increased by about 10% over last year.”

Wang Tieren said, “In addition, it can save costs. Previously, each hectare required 150 jin of seed, but now only 40 kg is needed, and the labor cost for replanting is also saved.” This year Wang Tieren used pot-body placement transplanting technology on the 20 hectares he cultivated and experienced the benefits of increased production. Next year, he plans to promote it on 120 hectares of paddy fields in the cooperative.