Spring crop management becomes smarter in C China's Henan

Farmers lay drip irrigation lines across wheat fields in Huojia county, Xinxiang, central China's Henan Province. (People's Daily Online/Shang Mingzhen)

36-year-old Feng Qinyuan sat in his car, tapping on his smartphone. Three kilometers away, drip irrigation valves across more than 300 mu (20 hectares) of high-standard farmland opened one by one, releasing a steady trickle of water into wheat fields in Huojia county, Xinxiang, central China's Henan Province.

His father Feng Yunzhe, 58, asked, "Can this really work without someone keeping an eye on the fields?" Feng Qinyuan said a smart agriculture platform, which monitors soil moisture and pests in real time, is far more efficient than the human eye.

Feng Qinyuan taps his smartphone to switch on the drip irrigation system in his wheat fields in Huojia county, Xinxiang, central China's Henan Province. (People's Daily Online/Shang Mingzhen)

Wang Qing'an, head of the soil and fertilizer service station at the agricultural affairs center in Huojia and an agricultural extension researcher, has been busy this Spring Festival helping farmers manage their crops. Among his key focus areas are Feng Qinyuan's wheat fields.

"The key right now is proper watering," Wang said, inspecting the fields and advising nearby farmers.

Wang Qing'an (central), an agricultural extension researcher, guides Feng Qinyuan (left) and other farmers on scientific crop management practices for the spring season in Huojia county, Xinxiang, central China's Henan Province. (People's Daily Online/Shang Mingzhen)

"I remember how exhausting spring irrigation used to be," Feng Yunzhe said. Having spent his whole life farming, he dreaded this task. Hiring a worker costs 120 yuan (about $17.43) per day for irrigating just 5 mu of farmland. For more than 300 mu, labor costs alone can exceed 7,000 yuan.

Now, irrigation can be completed in just a day or two, Feng Qinyuan said, noting that this saves 20 yuan per mu in labor costs, amounting to 18,000 yuan for the entire season.

Automatic soil moisture monitoring equipment continuously tracks real-time changes in soil moisture across wheat fields in Huojia county, Xinxiang, central China's Henan Province. (People's Daily Online/Shang Mingzhen)

Spring crop management is especially crucial this year. A rapid rise in temperatures, combined with delayed sowing last autumn, has put the wheat under stress. Strengthening the weaker plants is now a top priority, especially with warnings of potential cold snaps and droughts ahead.

"Don't worry," Feng Qinyuan said, opening the smart agriculture platform on his phone, which displayed seedling conditions, fertilizer and irrigation recommendations, and risk alerts—all at a glance.

Feng Qinyuan operates a drone to spray fertilizers across wheat fields in Huojia county, Xinxiang, central China's Henan Province. (People's Daily Online/Shang Mingzhen)

Photo shows neatly laid drip irrigation lines across wheat fields in Huojia county, Xinxiang, central China's Henan Province. (People's Daily Online/Shang Mingzhen)