"The cooperatives have planted 10,000 mu of wheat this year and plan to begin harvesting around June 10th," said Director Jiang Yongzhan of Qingdao Tongfu Qingen Agricultural Machinery Cooperative. "Using 7 modern machines, we expect to complete the harvest in as little as five days, after which we will move on to planting another 10,000 mu of corn. For the corn planting, we will use high-power, self-driving tractors that allow for optimal dense planting of up to 5,000 plants per mu."
Modern agricultural machinery can significantly boost harvesting and planting efficiency, reduce costs and enhance productivity, thereby safeguarding the "Three Summers" production (referring to the combined agricultural activities of harvest, planting, and management during summer) period. During a recent mechanized planting demonstration for soybean and corn strip intercropping in Qingdao, reporters observed agricultural machinery meticulously prepared for the upcoming wheat harvest. Qingdao has inspected and readied 160,000 units of agricultural equipment, including over 6,000 wheat harvesters, more than 10,000 corn planters, and around 190 grain dryers, all set to go.
Over 20 advanced machinery prepped for "Three Summers" production were showcased during the event in the precision corn planting section, including no-till precision planters, folding rotary tillers, and dual-axis stubble rotary tillers. These machines cover essential mechanized production stages for wheat and corn, such as land preparation, planting, field management, and harvesting.
"Machines like these are equipped with an imported air suction seed metering device, which has a low miss rate and does not damage seeds, allowing a more than 5% increase in corn yield per mu," explained Senior Engineer Zhu Xianliang of the Qingdao Agricultural Technology Center. "It integrates traction and suspension, making it suitable for large fields in no-till conditions. Additionally, the planter is equipped with a monitoring system that can detect and alert for missed seeding and blockages in real-time, further ensuring the quality of corn planting." Zhu highlighted that these new machines overcome many technical challenges in soybean and corn planting, significantly improving cultivation quality and operational efficiency.
In full preparation for the "Three Summers" agricultural production, Qingdao has readied all necessary machinery and accelerated the progress of agricultural machinery purchase subsidies. Over 6,000 machinery units required for "Three Summers" production have been subsidized, with a total subsidy fund of 57 million yuan. Efforts are also being made to enhance operational efficiency through training and promoting techniques to reduce harvest losses and improve planting quality to keep the wheat harvest loss rate below 1% and save over 10,000 tons of wheat, ensuring that every grain is collected.
