Busy scenes are unfolding across the grain fields in the Ili River Valley and Changji Prefecture in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region as the autumn harvest starts across China.
The Ili River Valley in the northwest of Xinxiang boasts long sunshine hours and abundant water. This year, more than 700,000 mu (about 46,667 hectares) of winter and spring wheat are planted. So far, all winter wheat has already been harvested, while 97 percent of spring wheat has been collected.
To boost production, local authorities have implemented large-scale yield improvement initiatives, providing more than 50 million yuan (about 7 million U.S. dollars) in subsidies for improved wheat varieties. Precision land preparation, navigation system-guided sowing, integrated water-fertilizer systems, and other planting technologies have been widely promoted.
In addition, 444,500 mu of high-standard farmland has been newly developed, which involves consolidating small plots into large fields and equipping rain-fed fields with drip irrigation systems. These measures have achieved high and stable wheat yields while significantly increasing per unit yield of grain.
This year's spring wheat yielded as much as 850.21 kilograms per mu, increasing nearly 20 percent year on year.
"Now we use drip irrigation systems, allowing us to apply water and fertilizer four times this year. Under the guidance of technicians, and the yields have improved significantly," said Chen Tingzhou, a farmer in Zhaosu County of Yili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture.
Meanwhile in Yushugou Township, Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, corn farmer Ma Haibing is harvesting more than 300 mu (about 20 hectares) of seed corn. Two self-driving harvesters rumbled through the fields, quickly filling trucks with golden kernels.
"From planting to crop management, technicians guided us the whole time in density control and water-fertilizer management. The corn kernels we harvest this year are large and full and all of these have been sold to seed companies," Ma said.
Under guidance, Ma also installed a smart water-fertilizer integration system across his farmland and adopted density control planting technique. As a result, the income per mu increases by 200 yuan compared with last year.
"The yield per mu is close to 800 kilograms. Next year I want to learn more new techniques to grow the corn field better and earn more with the help of science and technology," he said.
This year, Changji planted 1.46 million mu of corn, including 260,000 mu of seed corn and 1.2 million mu of grain corn. So far, about 30 percent of these corn has been collected, with full harvest expected to be completed by mid-October.
Wheat, corn harvest underway in China's Xinjiang
