New technology brings cotton planting into the “assembly line” era – Observation on spring sowing of cotton in Xinjiang III
As the weather gets warmer and the temperature rises, Xinjiang cotton begins to sow from south to north. In the endless cotton fields, smart agricultural machinery shuttles back and forth, the scene is spectacular and full of “technical style”.
In fact, there are many new technologies for cotton cultivation in Xinjiang that you cannot see. The application of these new technologies not only brings cotton cultivation into the “assembly line” era, but also makes farming easier for cotton farmers.
Iterative upgrade of seeding technology
On April 13, Zhang Lin, a cotton grower from Tongqike Village, Xingping Town, Yuli County, went to the cotton field early in the morning, and the roar of machines could be heard from far away.
“In the past, the busiest time of the year was sowing, and we were busy both day and night; now we only need one machine to dig ditches, sow seeds, spread membranes, and cover soil in one go, saving time and effort.” Zhang Lin Sadly, not only these, but also the application of a series of new technologies have made cotton farmers more and more motivated.
“This year I plan to sow 4,000 acres of cotton. In addition to using precision seeding technology, I will also try the new technology of ‘dry sowing and wet seeding’.” Zhang Lin said.
The “dry sowing and wet out” technology means that the land is directly leveled during cultivation, and sowing is spread with film. When the ground temperature rises to a temperature suitable for cotton seedlings to emerge, water begins to drip, eliminating the need for traditional winter and spring irrigation before sowing.
Wang Xiangjin, director of the Yuli County Agricultural Technology Extension Center, said: “The ‘dry sowing and wet seeding’ technology not only saves water, but when paired with drip irrigation under the film and precision seeding technology, it can also increase the emergence rate and lay the foundation for increasing cotton income.”
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With the continuous improvement of saline-alkali land and the popularization of combination seeders, southern Xinjiang began to promote the “dry sowing and wet seeding” technology on a large scale this year, with a total area of nearly 1 million acres. Yuli County has more than 300,000 acres of cotton fields this year trying to promote this technology.
Not only that, this year Yuli County also demonstrated and promoted the “delayed soil covering of planting rows” technology on a small scale. This technology was jointly developed by the team of Tian Liwen, a researcher at the Institute of Economic Crops of the Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and eight scientific research institutes and enterprises inside and outside Xinjiang. It can effectively solve the problem of low seedling emergence rate caused by rain disasters during the cotton seedling stage.
“The iterative upgrade of cotton sowing technology not only greatly reduces planting costs, but also improves cotton quality and yield, making cotton farmers more and more confident in growing cotton.” Wang Xiangjin said that in 2021, one million acres of cotton in Yuli County will be planted, The entire process from field management to harvesting has been mechanized.
Water-saving irrigation is smart and easy
Recently, Ma Zhandong, general manager of Xinjiang Tianye Smart Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd., is busy upgrading the company’s existing water-saving irrigation products. How to make irrigation more intelligent and precise while saving costs? This is a question he has been thinking about.
Xinjiang Tianye Smart Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. specializes in the independent research and development, design, manufacturing, installation and sales of water-saving irrigation automation control systems. It has 26 core intellectual property rights , has achieved remarkable results in the field of agricultural intelligent water and fertilizer integration.
Ma Zhandong witnessed the development and evolution of cotton drip irrigation technology in Xinjiang. “From mulch to drip irrigation to integrated water and fertilizer technology, Xinjiang’s cotton yield per mu has increased from 80 kilograms to more than 400 kilograms. This not only increases the output, but also greatly liberates the labor force.” He said.
Chen Ming, an employee of the 4th Company of the 141st Regiment of Shihezi City, the 8th Division of the Corps, was deeply touched by this. In the past season, he had to drive to the factory to pull fertilizer and then dissolve it himself when he came back. Now he is basically a hands-off shopkeeper.
“The integrated water and fertilizer equipment can automatically detect what nutrients are missing in the soil, automatically match the water and fertilizer ratio, and fertilize with just a click of a switch.” Chen Ming said that it used to be a bit awkward for one person to manage 30 acres of cotton. I can no longer take it anymore, but now I can easily manage 200 acres.
At present, the water and fertilizer integration technology developed by the company has been widely promoted and applied in Shihezi, Kuitun and other places. Ma Zhandong said that in the future, the company also plans to combine drip irrigation technology with digital technology to achieve full-process field management of cotton, making it easier to grow cotton.
Field management is precise and efficient
“Beep…it’s time to water” “beep…it’s time to fertilize”… When the cotton farmer’s mobile phone receives these messages, he only needs to tap on the phone to solve all the problems. This is an APP developed by Zhongnong Guoji (Xinjiang) Technology Co., Ltd., through which the entire intelligent operation of farming, management and harvesting can be realized.
Wang Guolin, an employee of the 130th Regiment of the 7th Division of the Corps, is one of those who experienced this technology. “More accurate” was the word Wang Guolin said most frequently during the interview.
“Once I watered, based on my experience, I felt that 50 cubic meters of water should be poured into one acre of land, but the system prompted that only 40 cubic meters of water was needed. After I followed the prompts, I not only reduced the cost, but also increased the output.” Wang Guolin said .
Gao Xincheng, chairman of Zhongnong Guoji (Xinjiang) Technology Co., Ltd., believes that relying on digital technology is one of the effective ways to achieve high quality development of Xinjiang cotton. The digital cotton industry technology platform built by the company can achieve one-click acquisition of planting plans, precise cotton management, and precise cotton management.The whole process of disaster prevention and control, water and fertilizer integration, and farming management and harvesting in the fields is intelligently operated. This year, the company launched a 100,000-acre future smart digital cotton project in Manas County.
Xinjiang Tianye Smart Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. is also actively building a digital cotton planting management platform, committed to transforming traditional planting experience into specific solutions that can be processed through databases, so that cotton planting can realize the transformation from “experience planting” to “Smart planting” transformation.
Wang Guolin is very optimistic about the future development of the digital cotton industry. He said: “Our generation relies on experience to grow cotton. How do the younger generations grow? These high technologies will give them more detailed guidance.”
Tian Liwen believes that digitalization is the future development direction of Xinjiang’s cotton industry, and it should be taken seriously and increased investment.
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