Modern machines used for rice seedling cultivation in Lu'an, E China's Anhui

Rice seedling breeding machines at an intelligent seedling cultivation center in the Munan agricultural industrial park in Jin'an district, Lu'an city, east China's Anhui Province. (People's Daily Online/Wang Rui)

Rice seedling breeding machines are used at an intelligent seedling cultivation center in the Munan agricultural industrial park in Jin'an district, Lu'an city, east China's Anhui Province.

Gao Zongqi, head of Anhui Yangchun Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd., said the company started using these machines this spring.

Each of the machines, 31.8 meters long and 5.5 meters high, is equipped with over 3,000 seedling trays and a drip irrigation system that ensures precise use of water, fertilizers and pesticides.

"Such a machine can cultivate nearly 200 mu (13.3 hectares) of rice seedlings every five days," Gao said. In traditional ways, 1 mu of land can be used to breed rice seedlings for 70 to 100 mu of farmland.

"If we put all our 30 machines into use, we are expected to cultivated rice seedlings during the spring season for 315,000 mu of farmland," Gao added.

These machines can also be used to cultivate edible fungi and seedlings of vegetables and oilseed rapes.

The Munan agricultural industrial park covers an area of about 100,000 mu. Last year, the total output value of the industrial park reached 3.7 billion yuan ($519.4 million). Lu'an city has built 181 new seedling cultivation centers.