In the prefecture-level city of Heze in East China's Shandong province, Juye county is using intelligent agricultural machinery — such as Beidou navigation facilities — to boost land leveling and sowing for the winter wheat, in a bid to safeguard next year's abundant grain harvest.

In China, wheat is divided into spring wheat and winter wheat according to its different sowing period, and as winter wheat is sown in later autumn or early winter and has strong cold resistance, it is thus named "winter wheat."

In a high-standard cropland in Tianzhuang town in Juye, farmers are carrying out winter wheat planting by taking the opportunities of sunny weather after the frost.

Liu Kaiqiang, a farmer in Tianzhuang, said: "This year, we have planted more than 93 hectares of winter wheat here, all of which were done by using such technologies as Beidou navigation, seed selection and seed coating. In the future, we will also integrate water and fertilizer usage."

"With the support of these technologies, we are confident that we can have abundant production and harvest in the coming year," he said.

According to farm machinery operator Yan Shiyu, this year's winter wheat sowing in Juye has such features as high technological level, strong mechanization, and "all-in-one" agricultural machinery operation services.

Yan noted: "Look, this seed drill is made by Germany's Lemken GmbH & Co. KG, a pure imported one with precise seeding and consistent seeding depth. Its working efficiency is about 2 hectares per hour, and if the land is in good condition, it can operate on about 20 hectares each day."

While improving sowing efficiency and reducing input cost, the operations can help raise summer grain production and farmers' income, he said.

To ensure the orderly and timely sowing of winter wheat, Juye has also established multiple expert technical-guidance groups, which provide comprehensive technical services in the forms of on-site inspections, door-to-door visits and knowledge lectures.

Bi Yancun, a senior agronomist at the Agriculture and Rural Bureau of Juye, said: "The recent frost season has passed, and we can increase the sowing amount appropriately. By adopting standardized sowing, integrated fertilizer and water technology measures, as well as implementing various measures such as fertilizer and water management and pest control in the middle and later stages, we can achieve an increase in wheat yield and promote the continuous improvement of wheat yield in our county."

Juye netted in a total grain output of 685,200 metric tons in 2023, a record high, said Feng Yanli, vice-mayor of Heze and Party secretary of Juye.

By sticking to the bottom line of food security, the grain planting area in Juye in 2024 remains above 102,000 hectares.

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