Technology fuels seedling industry growth
2026-06-01 20:06:00
By Chen Si.
Supported by advanced technologies, Yichang’s commercial seedling industry has accelerated its development. The city now has 35 large-scale seedling nurseries, each producing more than 500,000 seedlings annually. Together, they produce 230 million vegetable seedlings every year across nearly 20 varieties, including Chinese cabbage and cabbage, according to the Yichang Seed Supervision Station.
Yichang’s major seedling cultivation bases are concentrated in Changyang, Zhijiang and Dangyang, capitalizing on the city’s industrial advantages in alpine and plain vegetable cultivation.
High-quality seedlings from large-scale standardized nurseries help local farmers increase their income by around 500 yuan per mu (or US$1,034 per hectare) of planting land.
This modern cultivation model effectively addresses the challenges of traditional seedling raising, including low emergence rates, weak disease-prone seedlings, and inconsistent growth, helping improve both productivity and quality in the local vegetable industry.
Citywide, the adoption rate of automatic sowing and integrated water-and-fertilizer systems has reached 35 percent, while seedling survival rates are consistently maintained above 75 percent.
Supported by advanced technologies, Yichang’s commercial seedling industry has accelerated its development. The city now has 35 large-scale seedling nurseries, each producing more than 500,000 seedlings annually. Together, they produce 230 million vegetable seedlings every year across nearly 20 varieties, including Chinese cabbage and cabbage, according to the Yichang Seed Supervision Station.
Yichang’s major seedling cultivation bases are concentrated in Changyang, Zhijiang and Dangyang, capitalizing on the city’s industrial advantages in alpine and plain vegetable cultivation.
High-quality seedlings from large-scale standardized nurseries help local farmers increase their income by around 500 yuan per mu (or US$1,034 per hectare) of planting land.
This modern cultivation model effectively addresses the challenges of traditional seedling raising, including low emergence rates, weak disease-prone seedlings, and inconsistent growth, helping improve both productivity and quality in the local vegetable industry.
Citywide, the adoption rate of automatic sowing and integrated water-and-fertilizer systems has reached 35 percent, while seedling survival rates are consistently maintained above 75 percent.
Alpine vegetable seedling facility in Shuziling Village, Changyang Tujia Autonomous County. Photo by Tian YaminAt the smart vegetable seedling factory in Qunyi Village, Dangyang, the last batch of chili seedlings is being transported to alpine vegetable-growing areas.
"The factory has a 4,900-square-meter glass greenhouse fully equipped with professional systems for heat preservation, cooling, ventilation, and automatic sowing, achieving a seedling survival rate of 99 percent," said Du Xingguo, the head of the factory.
Dozens of sensors are installed throughout the workshop. Supported by intelligent IoT and precision temperature-control systems, the facility enables precise control over seedling growth. The system automatically issues alerts whenever growth or environmental indicators deviate from normal levels.
Leading local seedling enterprises have spearheaded the intelligent transformation and technological upgrading of cultivation facilities.
Bachu Vegetable Company uses eight-tier vertical seedling racks, increasing land use efficiency eightfold and producing more than 10 million seedlings annually.
Jinxuan Cooperative in Yidu has adopted hydroponic seedling cultivation technology, raising the seedling emergence rate by nearly 20 percent. It has also built a 5G-powered IoT "digital vegetable garden" that enables remote environmental control and AI-driven pest and disease monitoring.
Hongyang Seedling Company has developed advanced grafting technology, achieving a grafting survival rate exceeding 90 percent.
Jie Xingwei, Yang Bin also contributed to this story
