Rice planting work to conclude by late July

By Chen Si.

Rice farmers recently took advantage of sunny weather to push ahead with planting. This year's planned rice planting area is 1.19 million mu (79,333 hectares). To date, mid-season rice transplanting is complete on 950,000 mu, and all rice planting operations are set to finish by late July.

Contiguous rice paddies.

In Shima Village of Dangyang, technicians at a 1,000-mu rice field base load rice seeds into drone hoppers for precise aerial sowing along preset routes.

Cui Yongyue, manager of Luyi Family Farm, said the cooperative can complete aerial sowing across 200 mu daily. Compared with traditional mechanical transplanting, drone direct seeding increases efficiency tenfold and reduces costs by 200 yuan (US$29) per mu.

"The area is located in a semi-mountainous zone with undulating terrain, where large farm machinery struggles to work properly. Drones are suitable for all types of farmland. We can finish sowing 2,000 mu of fields within 10 days," Cui said.

Dangyang achieved a 99 percent summer planting mechanization rate this year. Drones are used on scattered small plots, while large machinery operates on flat, open fields.

In Banyue Town, heavy rainfall damaged early rice fields. Local staff are replanting, utilizing the final farming window.

Liu Shaowei of the town's agricultural service center said nearly 100 rice transplanters operate daily, covering more than 5,000 mu of fields.

So far, mid-season rice transplanting in Dangyang is 91 percent complete, covering 470,000 mu.

Farmers working in rice paddies.

Rice transplanters crisscross paddies in Songmuping Town, leaving orderly rows of seedlings in their wake.

"One transplanter can cover 30 mu per day. Four machines can finish all 200 mu in just two days," said Zhang Shaoyun, an operator.

Mechanized transplanting is more efficient than manual work and ensures evenly spaced seedlings, simplifying field management.

Songmuping Town developed 13,000 mu of high-standard farmland. This year, 2,000 mu of high-quality land will use mechanized transplanting. Unified water and fertilizer management is expected to improve seedling survival and crop quality, yielding an estimated 1,000 tons.

Wang Wu, director of the town's Agriculture and Rural Affairs Service Center, noted that high-standard farmland provides ideal conditions for farm machinery.

This, combined with mechanized transplanting, helps stabilize grain output and improve quality. The town also promotes rice-rape rotation to maximize land use.

Zhou Chongyu, Fang Zixuan, He Mingjun also contributed to this story