Cost-saving and efficiency-boosting techniques for wheat cultivation help farmers cut costs and increase income
“Among China's three major grain crops, wheat is the crop with the largest consumption as a staple food, the largest trade volume, and the highest growth rate in per-unit yield. To achieve stable grain output and increased income, and to improve quality and efficiency, in 2016 we will continue to carry out research focused on high wheat yields, cost savings and efficiency gains, and water control and reduced use of pesticides and fertilizers.” When talking about his New Year's wishes, Guo Tiancai, professor at Henan Agricultural University and deputy head of the Wheat Expert Guidance Group of the Ministry of Agriculture, still had wheat on his mind.
As the first season of the year's grain production, wheat production plays an important role in that “a bumper summer harvest means a bumper harvest for the whole year.” The Huang-Huai-Hai region is China's advantageous wheat-producing area, with wheat sown area and output accounting for about 60% and more than 70% of the national totals respectively, and the volume of commercial wheat transferred out accounting for more than 80% of the national total, so developing wheat production in this region is of great significance for ensuring food security.
Last year the temperature dropped relatively early. On November 23, a large-scale drop in temperature and snowfall occurred in the main wheat-producing areas, causing wheat to enter the overwintering period ahead of schedule. Taking Henan as an example, overwintering began one month earlier than in previous years. In addition, winter wheat was sown relatively late, accumulated temperature was insufficient, and the proportion of weak seedlings was relatively high. Guo Tiancai said: “An important task for us in early spring 2016 is to guide farmers to manage early to promote early growth, and strive for a good summer harvest.”
In 2015, although many large grain-growing households increased their output, their returns were poor because of reasons such as falling grain prices. Guo Tiancai said: “At present, the comparative returns from growing wheat are relatively low. In order to protect farmers' enthusiasm for growing grain, in 2016 we will focus our research on cost savings and efficiency gains for new types of business entities such as large grain-growing households, family farms, and cooperatives.”
⟦NL> Cost savings and efficiency gains cannot be separated from increasing per-unit yield. “We should develop simplified integrated techniques suitable for mechanized operations to improve farmers' returns from growing wheat.” Guo Tiancai said that crop rotation arrangements, maturity scheduling, planting patterns, and field management should better meet the requirements of large-scale, mechanized operations.
At present, the shortage of water resources in northern Huang-Huai and North China has become one of the biggest limiting factors for the development of wheat production. Guo Tiancai introduced that over the past 10-plus years, the effective irrigated area of farmland in the Huang-Huai region reached 62.8%, 6.1% higher than the national average, but there are still more than 80 million mu of dryland wheat “relying on the weather for food.” Therefore, integrating water-saving technical models involving varieties, agronomy, and facilities to improve water resource use efficiency is an important goal for achieving sustainable wheat development in the region.
In addition, winter wheat in the Huang-Huai-Hai region has a long growth period, spanning the four seasons of autumn, winter, spring, and summer, so disaster prevention and mitigation are also very important. Guo Tiancai said that in growing wheat in this region it is necessary to build high-standard permanent grain fields, continuously improve soil fertility, expand the area of irrigable, high-yield, and stable-yield fields, and enhance disaster resistance and mitigation capacity and comprehensive production capacity. In cultivation, in accordance with the requirements of “prevention before disaster, control during disaster, and remediation after disaster,” monitoring and early warning of natural disasters, diseases, pests, and weeds should be strengthened, and contingency cultivation and post-disaster remediation management measures should be innovated.