The fundamental way out of rape production lies in mechanization.

"the fundamental way out of rape production lies in mechanization", which is the broad consensus of agricultural machinery and agronomic experts at the seminar on rape production mechanization technology. On August 11, a seminar on mechanization of rape production was held in Beijing. At the meeting, the detection results of rape harvest loss carried out in the main rape producing areas of four provinces in China were released, which unanimously showed that the rape machinery combined harvesting loss rate was the smallest, and at the present stage, mechanical combined harvesting should be given priority to and mechanical segmented harvesting should be supplemented. Various ways coexist, agronomic integration of agricultural machinery, and vigorously popularize the technology of rape harvesting mechanization.

Rape is the main oil crop in China, with a perennial planting area of about 100 million mu and a yield of 12 million tons. In recent years, the level of mechanization of rape production in China has improved steadily, but there is still a large gap compared with the level of mechanization of rice, corn and other crops, especially the mechanization of harvest is the weakest, and the harvest level of rape machine in 2014 is only 25.32%. From May to June 2015, the Agricultural Machinery extension Station of the Ministry of Agriculture, together with the National Agricultural Technology extension Center and the Oil Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, organized rape harvest loss detection activities in Wujiang, Anhui, Caidian, Hubei and Liuyang, Hunan, to determine the loss rates of artificial harvesting, mechanical harvesting and mechanical combined harvesting. This is the first time in the country to carry out a more comprehensive and systematic practical exploration on different rape harvesting methods and their operation effects. The average results of field production testing in four sites showed that the loss rate of rape machinery combined harvest was the lowest, which was 10.61%; the loss rate of mechanical harvesting was the second, 11.53%; and the loss rate of artificial harvest was the highest, which was 15.61%. Carrying out the detection of rape harvest loss will help to guide the broad masses of farmers to choose rape harvest methods reasonably and scientifically select and purchase rape harvester, and speed up the whole process of mechanization of rape production.

The relevant responsible comrades of the Agricultural Mechanization Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, the National Agricultural Technology extension Center, and the Agricultural Machinery extension Station of the Ministry of Agriculture, all members of the second expert Group on rape production Mechanization of the Ministry of Agriculture and representatives of agricultural machinery extension and appraisal departments of the main winter rape producing provinces in the Yangtze River Basin attended the seminar.