Guizhou Popularizes Improved Varieties of Grain to Increase Per mu Yield by Nearly 60%

With the popularization of improved agricultural varieties such as hybrid rice and hybrid corn, the level of grain yield per unit area in Guizhou has been greatly improved. In 2015, the average grain yield per mu in Guizhou reached 252.5 kg, an increase of 93.5kg and 58.8% over 1978, and the total grain output for the whole year reached 11.8 million tons, a record high.

Guizhou, known as "eight mountains and one water and one separate field", has a wide range of karst landforms, with mountains and hills accounting for 92.5 percent of the province's total area. Among the 68.44 million mu of cultivated land in the province, there are more sloping farmland, less cultivated land in the dam area, more medium-and low-yield cultivated land, less high-quality cultivated land and poor crop production conditions. In some areas, there is a slope in spring and a basket in autumn harvest, and a very small number of farmers still need to rely on state relief grain to survive.

Xiao Rongjun, deputy director of the Guizhou Provincial Committee of Agriculture, said at the Guizhou Provincial seed Management work Conference held a few days ago that the coverage rate of improved crop varieties in Guizhou has reached more than 95 percent, and major crop varieties have been generally replaced 6-7 times. With the promotion and application of improved varieties, the total grain output in Guizhou has gradually increased. In 2015, the total grain output reached 11.8 million tons, the highest in history.

Xiao Rongjun said that Guizhou will further strengthen the research and development, cultivation, and promotion of improved agricultural varieties, invest 10 million yuan a year to develop the modern seed industry, adhere to the road of developing agriculture with mountain characteristics, increase efforts to support and benefit agriculture, and ensure food security.