In the golden autumn season, crops such as corn, rice, and soybeans in Zhijiang, Hubei, have ripened one after another. The fields hum with the sound of machinery, and a picture of bountiful harvest unfolds across the landscape.

Located on the western edge of the Jianghan Plain, Zhijiang is a major national grain-producing county and a key grain production area in Hubei. In 2026, the city's grain planting area is expected to reach 930,000 mu, with total output reaching 326,600 tons.

In Taizhou Village, Dongshi Town, Zhijiang City, villager Meng Xiangping, who has farmed for half his life, squatted by the field ridge, held up a handful of freshly threshed rice, and beamed with joy: "The rice seed this year is excellent. Each mu can yield around 1,300 jin, more than 100 jin higher than previous years!"

"The ratoon rice variety we selected, Shenliangyou Yuehe Simiao, has seen its planting area exceed 1,000 mu this year. The entire process from cultivation to management to harvest has been mechanized. This high-quality variety commands a premium of 0.2 yuan per jin over ordinary rice, boosting efficiency by more than 300 yuan per mu," said Xiang Yanping, head of the Zhijiang Lujingxin Rice Professional Cooperative.

Premium seeds and advanced methods store grain in technology. In recent years, Zhijiang has continuously optimized its agricultural planting structure and steadily improved the scale, standardization, and mechanization of grain production. From factory-based intelligent seedling cultivation and mechanical transplanting and harvesting to the widespread application of new technologies such as drone-based unified pest control and "one spray, multiple promotions" green prevention and control, a deeply integrated planting system combining "premium seeds and methods plus agricultural machinery and agronomy" has taken root in Zhijiang's fields, ensuring the production of high-quality grain.

At the thousand-mu soybean-corn strip compound planting base in Junmin Village, Bailizhou Town, Zhijiang City, the yields are equally encouraging. Harvesters shuttle back and forth, and plump soybean grains pour from the unloading outlets, quickly filling the transport vehicles.

"Through rational field arrangement, we paired corn with a growth period basically consistent with that of soybeans to ensure corn yields are not reduced while harvesting an extra season of beans," introduced Zeng Quan, deputy director of the Zhijiang Agricultural Technology Promotion Center. Agricultural machinery personnel at the city and town levels provide on-site service and guidance focused on premium seeds, machinery, and methods. For corn, compact, lodging-resistant, and high-yielding varieties such as Kangnongyu 8009 and Zhengda 506 are selected, while for soybeans, shade-tolerant, disease-resistant, and machine-harvest-friendly high-yielding varieties such as Zhongdou 63 and Nannong 66 are chosen. Supporting integrated water and fertilizer drip irrigation precisely regulates water and nutrients, ensuring every drop of water contributes to yield increases.

Since the beginning of this year, Zhijiang City has adopted methods such as building first and subsidizing later, interest discounts, and government purchase of services to implement a "five unifications" model: unified seed supply, unified centralized seedling cultivation, unified mechanical operations, unified water and fertilizer management, and unified pest and disease control management. From the source of premium seeds to field management, the quality defense line for autumn grain is firmly maintained throughout.

At the same time, in response to rainy weather during autumn harvest, Zhijiang City has established a full-chain emergency system of "rapid harvesting—transfer—drying—purchase." By precisely monitoring weather conditions and crop maturity, seizing favorable weather windows, and coordinating the deployment of harvesters and drying equipment, operations run around the clock in shifts. As of press time, Zhijiang City had completed rapid autumn grain harvesting on 500,000 mu, with over 250,000 tons of autumn grain safely stored, striving for a bumper autumn harvest.