In the seed corn fields, Liu Jun, a worker from the 12th Company of the 62nd Regiment under the Fourth Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, is diligently removing the male tassels from the plants. Under the blazing sun, vast fields stretch across the landscape, with figures busily moving through the division's 45,000-acre seed corn production base, racing against time to complete the detasseling work.

"The summer is dry and windy, which speeds up pollen dispersal. Missing or delaying the removal of any male tassels can affect seed quality. There's no room for carelessness in detasseling," said Ban Hao, a technician from the Huoerguosi Chuangjin Corn Seed Production Co., Ltd., as he hurried between the field plots, guiding the work. Sweat rolled down his cheeks, and the serrated edges of corn leaves left red marks on his neck.

"The corn seeds we harvested in 2025 were sold to Jilin and Hebei provinces, with a net income per mu exceeding 3,000 yuan. This year, 50% of the workers in our company have planted these 'golden seeds'," Liu Jun told Ban Hao during a short break at the field's edge. He expressed full confidence in achieving stable and high yields, thanks to the careful guidance from seed industry experts and technicians throughout the spring planting, summer management, and autumn harvest seasons.

Seeds are the "silicon chips" of agriculture. As a national-level hybrid corn seed production base and a major national county for corn seed production, the Fourth Division and the city of Kekedala have been producing an average of 98,000 tons of corn seeds annually in recent years, accounting for 8.5% of the nation's total output, with seed quality exceeding the national standards for single-seed sowing.

Today, the corn seed production industry has become the pillar industry within the division and city with the highest degree of agricultural industrialization, the broadest connection to farming households, the largest share of household income, and the strongest radiating influence.

Firmly establishing and practicing a correct view of political achievement, and using high-quality seeds to strengthen the national food security barrier, the Fourth Division and Kekedala City are deeply implementing the Corps' seed industry revitalization action. They are intensifying efforts to upgrade the seed industry, aiming to build a modern seed industry system with an output value reaching tens of billions. This year, the planted area for seed corn reached 180,000 mu, and they applied for 30 million yuan in reward funds as a major seed-producing county, accounting for 50% of the total Corps funds, actively contributing Corps' strength to safeguarding national food security.

"In 2025, the division and city were approved as a Corps biological breeding base. This year, we continue to consolidate our advantages as a national-level major corn seed production county, stabilizing the planting scale of seed corn through quality services and technological application, improving seed quality, and polishing the seed industry brand," said Zhou Haining, Deputy Director of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau of the Fourth Division and Kekedala City.

To make the seed kernels fuller and improve their commercial performance, the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau of the Fourth Division and Kekedala City, along with 13 regimental farms and seed production enterprises, have strengthened technical services for field management of seed corn. They are further promoting the application of cultivation models like "dwarf, dense, early, film, uniform" and technologies such as precision sowing, integrated water and fertilizer management, and green pest and disease control, laying a solid foundation for high yields and increased income.

To leverage a single seed to drive a billion-dollar industry chain, the Fourth Division and Kekedala City continue to intensify investment promotion efforts around the seed production industry, promoting industrial agglomeration and chain extension.

This year, the division and city introduced the Corps' integrated "breeding, propagation, and promotion" seed enterprise—Xinjiang Kangdi Lüzhou Seed Industry Co., Ltd.—and are vigorously advancing work on variety breeding breakthroughs, standardization upgrades of seed production bases, and the cultivation and strengthening of backbone enterprises to support the high-quality development of the seed production industry.

Currently, the number of seed enterprises in the Fourth Division and Kekedala City has reached 22, with over 110 corn seed production enterprises engaged in cooperation.

This year, the division and city will deepen the integration of industry, academia, and research with major domestic seed enterprises such as Beijing Lianchuang Seed Industry Co., Ltd. and Anhui Winall Hi-tech Seed Industry Co., Ltd., accelerating the comprehensive upgrade of the entire chain from variety breeding and elite seed propagation to market promotion, and promoting the steady development of the modern seed industry.