Five reminders are necessary for spring ploughing and seed purchase

The busy season of spring ploughing is the hot season for buying seeds. In the recent survey of the seed market, it is found that some farmers have some misunderstandings in choosing and purchasing seeds. A few days ago, the Agricultural Technology extension Center of Sheqi County, Henan Province, organized agricultural experts to hold a science and technology training course to answer the questions raised by farmers, reminding everyone not to fall into misunderstandings solely on the basis of experience or following the crowd when choosing and purchasing seeds.

Myth 1: the higher the price, the better the seed.

The answer is no. There is an abundant supply of seeds in various markets this year, but there is an imbalance in the structure of variety collocation. In the Nanyang seed Wholesale Market, the author sees that the brand seeds that farmers like are relatively scarce and expensive, while the seeds of other brands are relatively surplus. Liu Fanjie, director of the Sheqi County seed Management Station and senior agronomist, believes that the main reason for the seed imbalance is that many farmers fall into the misunderstanding that the higher the seed price, the more high-quality products. In fact, the high yield of seeds is not necessarily related to the price, expensive seeds do not rule out the factors of merchant hype.

Myth 2: I plant what others grow.

Some farmers like to follow the crowd when buying crop seeds. It is actually very unsafe to think that I will plant what others grow. Apart from the soil, water and fertilizer, management and other factors of their own land, and choosing the same seeds as their neighbors, the planting results may be very different.

Myth 3: what seeds were planted last year for high yield, and what seed insurance do you buy this year?

In fact, this understanding is also a misunderstanding. What variety had a high yield last year, and this year we continued to buy the seeds of this variety, which led to a strange phenomenon that year after year, unable to keep up with it, and stepped into the misunderstanding of empiricism. Meteorological conditions is an important factor affecting the growth and development of crops, adapted to meteorological conditions, crops will thrive, otherwise the crops will grow poorly, resulting in a serious reduction in production, or even no harvest. Therefore, when choosing and purchasing seeds, we must grasp the changes of local meteorological conditions. If there is a great change in meteorological conditions, the selection and purchase of seeds should change accordingly. For example, if there was a severe drought last autumn, we should listen to the long-term weather forecast of the Central Meteorological Station this year. If there is a drought, will there be a flood? What's more, in the past two years, the El Ni ñ o phenomenon has occurred frequently, and the seeds of varieties with strong resistance to rain, waterlogging or drought should be purchased in the northern region.

Myth 4: the new variety must be better than the old one.

The answer is also no. Some farmers think that as long as it is a new variety, it must be better than the old one. This reflects the blindness of some farmers in choosing and buying seeds. If you want to make a small demonstration, then it is right to choose a new variety, but it is not rational to popularize planting on a large scale. At present, many new varieties of crops have been selected and bred by various scientific research institutions, but not many of them are really used in the field. The so-called varieties must be tested and demonstrated and the variety approval committee can determine their advantages, and that is, the approved varieties still have a certain suitable planting area, once the blind promotion and expansion of the planting area, the risk is extremely high. In 2013, the agricultural department of a county in Nanyang Prefecture promoted an approved wheat variety, but it was not planted according to the approved area, resulting in a large area reduction in wheat production, leading to mass petitions by farmers, and the painful lesson that leaders in charge bear criminal incidental civil liability. In fact, although some old varieties have been planted for many years, their performance in production is very stable. I hope that farmers can consider this kind of seeds when planting.

Myth 5: seeds suitable for local natural conditions must be good seeds.

In fact, this is also a kind of misunderstanding. Professor Zhang Shihuang of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences believes that the seeds of a good brand adapt not only to the natural conditions of a region, but also to its market conditions. For example, when buying high-oil corn hybrids and special starch varieties, we should consider whether there are large starch processing enterprises around them, and whether to implement the policy of high quality and high price. For example, corn oil is a by-product of starch processing. Modern processing machinery must be used to extract corn oil, and it is difficult for general processing equipment in rural areas to complete corn de-embryo and a series of processing procedures. Therefore, the planting and processing of special corn varieties, completely rely on leading enterprises. If farmers feel that they can't grasp the market, they have to weigh it when choosing and buying seeds, and the number of seeds they buy should also be determined according to their ability to grasp the market.

Agricultural experts remind farmers that buying seeds is a key step in agricultural production. Be sure to go to the regular seed department, consult and compare repeatedly, and ask for invoices to avoid the above misunderstanding.