Technology-driven agricultural practices are enhancing efficiency and sustainability of the spring plowing across Nan'an City, a key early rice production base in east China's Fujian Province.
A total of 149,200 mu (approximately 9,947 hectares) of early rice fields are being prepared for planting this year in Nan'an.
In Puli village of Nan'an City, seedling cultivation has taken center stage in this year's spring farming preparations, with a fully automated seedling sowing production line streamlining the entire process. Operators simply place seedling trays on the conveyor belt, and the machine spreads a layer of soil, sprays water, sows seeds, and adds a top covering. The entire process takes less than five seconds per tray.
The process continues with three-dimensional circulating seedling machines that ensure uniform light exposure for each seedling, boost air circulation to promote even nutrient and light distribution for robust growth. The system is also equipped with LED grow lights at its base to supplement illumination for the seedlings, as well as an electric spraying unit for automated watering and fertilization. All key environmental parameters, including lighting, temperature and humidity, can be intelligently controlled via the integrated system.
"We have introduced three sets of circulating seedling raising equipment. Each batch can cultivate 8,000 trays of seedlings, which can meet the seedling demand for about 500 mu of paddy fields. Compared with traditional seedling raising methods, this technology saves space, cutting the land use for seedling cultivation by about 80 percent. It also shortens the growth cycle. Each batch of seedlings is ready for transplanting in just 15 to 20 days, about a week less than the traditional method," said Huang Chunfu, a senior engineer at the Agricultural Mechanization Development Center of Nan'an Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Beyond automated seedling cultivation, smart technology is also revolutionizing the land preparation and plowing process, another core link of early rice production in Nan'an.
Adjacent to the smart seedling raising center, plowing operations are being handled by tractors equipped with the BeiDou Navigation System. Drivers only need to preset four coordinates to define the operating area, and the tractor will automatically carry out plowing along the pre-programmed route. Operators can monitor the tractor's real-time travel path in the cab, with the equipment delivering exceptional precision, featuring an error margin of less than 2.5 centimeters per 1,000 meters of operation.
Alongside the farmland, a compact weather station monitors real-time meteorological data including air temperature, humidity and light intensity. Paired with a soil moisture monitoring device that transmits real-time metrics such as soil pH levels, these facilities form a fully integrated smart farmland system, enabling more precise and efficient agricultural management.
Smart agriculture facilitates spring plowing in Fujian
