Breakthroughs In Shandong's Cotton Industry: Mechanized Planting

"Estimate Texas This year, it will be less than 1 million 200 thousand mu, about 400000 Mu less than the previous year, and about 25% of the cotton planting will be replaced by wheat cultivation. Ma Junkai, Deputy Secretary General of Dezhou Cotton Association, said: "as a traditional cotton planting and cotton producing area, Dezhou cotton planting area has been maintained at 200-300 mu in the past ten years. The decline in recent years is quite obvious. In 2009, it was 2 million 300 thousand mu, and in 2010 it was 1 million 550 thousand mu. In the case of high cotton prices, the cotton planting area increased in 2011, but it was only 1 million 600 thousand mu."

"Maybe the cotton field in Dezhou is very strong, so it's time to count Heze Caoxian. That's about 1000000 times cotton production. The number is very poor now. Cotton fields in Juancheng, Heze are also dropping very hard. " Bian Shenggui, Deputy Secretary General of Shandong Cotton Association, regrets this helpless change with our reporter. "At the beginning of last year, the estimate was 12 million mu, and the actual final area was around 11 million 600 thousand mu. This year is definitely less. " The cotton planting area survey data released by China Cotton Association in 2012 showed that the the Yellow River basin is expected to grow 24 million 360 thousand mu, a decrease of 14%, of which Shandong's decline is 15%.

In the face of reality, where will cotton industry of Shandong go in the future?

"Like implementation Grain supplement In the same way, we should subsidize cotton farmers' agricultural subsidies, and encourage cotton farmers to set up cotton cooperatives to reduce the cost of planting. Ma Junkai suggested that cotton is the only crop after grain. The state should pay attention to cotton production as much as grain. Now cotton farmers only have 15 yuan per mu of good seed subsidies, considering the increase in agricultural prices, cotton farmers should also enjoy 98 yuan per mu of agricultural subsidies.

Yu Dianping mentioned that the Xiajin County Agricultural Bureau plans to interplant potatoes in cotton fields and popularize the intercropping of cotton and potato, so as to make full use of space and improve efficiency. "The current intercropping mode is technically feasible, but it is still in the experimental stage due to cost, employment and more time. If successful, the farmers expect to increase 2000 yuan per mu.

"The state should also provide special funds to support the establishment of professional cooperatives for cotton farmers. Achieving unified purchase It is necessary to reduce the cost and reduce labor intensity by sowing and fighting drugs. Ma Junkai told reporters.

Bian Shenggui also believes that cotton should be planted in a large area. "To further strengthen the management of rural collective land circulation, cotton can be planted in large areas to facilitate mechanization operations." At the same time, reporters learned from the Shandong Cotton Association, at the end of last month, Shandong's first cotton mechanization demonstration base settled in Binzhou. Reporters learned that the base was established in Zhanhua County, Binzhou, with an area of 500 mu. The John Deere Company, the world's largest agricultural machinery enterprise, provides an experimental demonstration of a traction one line, a two line cotton picker and a self-propelled 9970 type cotton picker and a part of soil preparation and plant protection machinery for cotton picking, and carries out all-around technical cooperation on the cultivation, planting, management and collection of cotton crops in selected project sites, and explores the mechanization scheme suitable for Shandong's cotton production.