National autumn harvest more than half complete; as of October 8, 640 million mu of autumn grain has been harvested

According to the agricultural situation dispatch of the Ministry of Agriculture, the national autumn grain harvest is now more than 50 percent complete, and autumn planting is more than 10 percent complete. The autumn harvest and autumn planting have entered the peak period, which is also the critical period for securing the winter wheat area. Agricultural departments at all levels are strengthening the dispatch of machinery, intensifying guidance and services, accelerating the harvest progress, and ensuring that every kernel is returned to the granary, so as to complete the autumn and winter planting tasks to high standards and with high quality.

According to dispatch analysis, as of October 8, 640 million mu of autumn grain had been harvested nationwide, completing 53.7 percent of the planted area, with the harvest progress 4.1 percentage points slower than the same period last year. The reason is that continuous rainfall in parts of the Huang-Huai, Jiang-Huai and Southwest regions in early and mid-September affected the autumn grain harvest, and the first frost period was delayed this year. However, during the "National Day" period, most parts of the country had clear weather, which was favorable for the autumn harvest, and all localities strengthened guidance and services to seize the clear weather to harvest the autumn grain.

This year's autumn and winter sowing progress is also slower than last year's. According to dispatch, as of October 8, 40.49 million mu of winter wheat had been sown nationwide, completing 12.0 percent of the plan, 4.6 percentage points slower; 19.31 million mu of winter rapeseed had been sown nationwide, completing 18.3 percent, 3.1 percentage points slower. According to analysis, the slower year-on-year wheat sowing progress was mainly due to the delay in the autumn harvest progress in Huang-Huai, Northwest and other places affected by continuous rainfall in early and mid-September, combined with the promotion of timely late harvesting technology for corn in some provinces of the Huang-Huai-Hai region. However, soil moisture was generally good this year, so wheat can still be sown within the suitable sowing period.

In addition, according to the forecast of the Central Meteorological Observatory, in the next 10 days (October 8-17), except for locally excessive precipitation in the Southwest, precipitation in most parts of the country will be normal or below normal; except for northern Xinjiang, northeastern Inner Mongolia and the Northeast, where temperatures will be 1°C-3°C lower than the same period in normal years, temperatures in most other areas will be close to or slightly higher than the same period in normal years. Meteorological conditions are generally favorable for the maturation, harvesting and drying of autumn crops and for the sowing and emergence of winter wheat.