Wheat mechanized ridge-free cultivation technology, explained by Hao Deyou
Recently, Hao Deyou, a wheat cultivation expert at the Hengshui Institute of Agricultural Sciences, and Zhao Guangcai, an agronomy PhD at the Institute of Crop Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and a Ministry of Agriculture wheat expert, came together to the wheat fields of villagers Cao Guangju and Cao Shibo in Qianying Village, Shenzhou City. The purpose of Hao Deyou's visit was to once again confirm, in front of the Ministry of Agriculture wheat expert, the actual results of his years of research on "wheat mechanized ridge-free cultivation."
The wheat fields of Cao Guangju and Cao Shibo are separated by a small path, with the same soil conditions and the same wheat seed, both watered twice and sprayed twice with pesticide. The only difference is that Cao Guangju's family used "wheat mechanized ridge-free cultivation," while Cao Shibo's family still used traditional "row-ridge planting." Both families separately bagged the wheat, measured moisture, and weighed it on scales. Cao Guangju's wheat field averaged 636.9 kg per mu, and Cao Shibo's wheat field averaged 583.5 kg per mu. The winner was the "wheat mechanized ridge-free cultivation" planting.
Hao Deyou explained: "The core of 'wheat mechanized ridge-free cultivation' technology is the even distribution of wheat plants; it is 'lawn-style' wheat growing. Compared with traditional 'row-ridge planting,' there are more seedlings and more ears, individual plants are even and strong, and the ears are both more numerous and larger. Normally, one mu of land will have 50,000 to 100,000 more ears, with an average yield increase of 50 to 100 kg per mu."
At the site, Zhao Guangcai, an agronomy PhD at the Institute of Crop Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and a Ministry of Agriculture wheat expert, did the accounting: with the same soil, water, fertilizer and other conditions, "wheat mechanized ridge-free cultivation" increased yield by 53.4 kg per mu compared with "row-ridge planting," a yield increase rate of 9.15%, which at market price means an income increase of 106.8 yuan. That is not all: "wheat mechanized ridge-free cultivation" changes four or five operations, including straw return, rotary tillage, sowing and field rolling, into one operation, which can also save about 50 yuan.
No one had ever questioned the "row-ridge planting" method in the past, because for generations every household planted that way. Whether wheat could be grown without ridges was something Hao Deyou explored for many years. In 2006, he began raising funds to establish a company, applied a wheat combined broadcast seeder to ridge-free cultivation, and conducted a wheat ridge-free cultivation trial on 120 mu of land belonging to Wang Yinhuan, a villager in Haojiazhuang Village, Wuqiang County. The result was an average yield increase of 80.5 kg per mu. Hao Deyou had succeeded!
Wheat experts from all over the country followed Hao Deyou's footsteps. For 8 consecutive years, experts from Hebei, Henan and Shandong provinces measured actual harvested yields, and the results were that wheat yield increased by 50-100 kg per mu, costs were saved by 30-50 yuan per mu, and efficient use of water, fertilizer and land was achieved. At present, Hao Deyou has obtained 16 national patents and 2 international patents, and "wheat mechanized ridge-free cultivation" has been promoted in 11 provinces across the country and in some African countries.