In the hilly terrain, the roar of machinery echoes. Planting machines shuttle back and forth, depositing rows of corn seeds into the soil, ready to nurture new seedlings. In Shehong City, Suining, Sichuan, Xu Xiaoming, a large-scale grain grower from Erjiaosi Village, Tianxian Town, is busy planting corn ahead of schedule.

Bending down and turning over clumps of soil, Xu carefully inspects the planting results. "The effect is excellent. We'll finish sowing over 2,000 mu of summer corn very soon!"

Sowing summer corn involves tilling the wheat stubble and planting the corn seeds, traditionally requiring two separate steps: rotary tilling and seeding. Due to a lack of machinery capable of performing both tasks simultaneously, the conventional method was not only costly but also time-consuming. "Last year, we finished planting corn relatively late. The seedling stage coincided with the mid-summer drought, resulting in a yield of only a little over 200 kilograms per mu," Xu explained.

"Around mid-to-late July, Suining is prone to mid-summer drought, which coincides with the tasseling stage of summer corn, posing a significant challenge to crop growth," added Xia Jinsong, a senior agronomist at the Suining Agricultural Technology Extension Station.

In May this year, Suining invited experts to organize on-site training sessions to promote strip rotary tillage fertilizer seeders and high-density planting techniques for corn. "The new seeder can complete both rotary tillage and seeding in one pass, taking much less time. This allows the corn to avoid drought during the seedling stage and escape the mid-summer drought during its tasseling period," said Xia Jinsong, who participated in the training.

Alongside Xia Jinsong, Xu Xiaoming also attended the training. He further established connections with professors from Sichuan Agricultural University to learn supporting production techniques. After the session, Xu promptly applied the promoted trial seeder to his cornfields.

"The front row of the machine consists of moving blades responsible for rotary tilling the wheat stubble. Behind them are furrow-opening, seeding, and fertilizing devices," Xu described. The moving blades can till the nutrients from the stubble into the soil, helping to preserve moisture. Following the tilling, the seeder's furrow opener creates soil trenches, after which seeding and fertilizing are carried out in sequence. The fertilizing device also incorporates an intelligent controller, allowing input of fertilization parameters to dynamically adjust the application rate.

"With the devices arranged in order from front to back, the seeder achieves simultaneous rotary tillage and seeding in one operation," Xu stated.

The seeder also employs a shallow tillage mode. A closer look in the field reveals rows of furrows, with freshly turned soil. The corn seeds are placed where the soil depth is less than 5 centimeters. Xia Jinsong explained, "Shallow tillage creates furrows that help the soil retain precipitation. This not only concentrates moisture for corn during the seedling stage but also prevents rapid evaporation of water from deeper soil layers."

In the fields, the seeders roar to life once more. As the rush planting of summer corn nears completion, Xu Xiaoming calculates this year's potential income increase. "We finished sowing in early June. The corn is expected to tassel in early July, avoiding the mid-summer drought period."

The yield per mu for this year's summer corn is projected to exceed 400 kilograms, doubling compared to last year. Not only is the yield secured, but costs are also reduced. Previously, the two separate steps of rotary tilling and seeding combined cost about 140 yuan per mu. "Now, completing both in one go costs only around 80 yuan per mu," Xu said. He added that in areas with better water access, using the mobile integrated water-fertilizer-pesticide applicator promoted in the training sessions can further lower irrigation and fertilization costs.

Looking across Sichuan, corn production is primarily spring corn, with summer corn serving as an important supplement. "Suining plants nearly 200,000 mu of summer corn. The mid-summer drought is a major risk factor for its growth," introduced Zhao Ruyi, Deputy Director of the Suining Municipal Party Committee Rural Work Leading Group Office. Promoting the new agricultural machinery can shorten the summer corn sowing period by about 10 days, mitigating the adverse effects of the drought.

So far, the planting of summer corn in Suining is essentially complete. The local area has also implemented supporting straw mulching techniques to reduce soil erosion and better achieve drought resistance and seedling protection.