Aerial grass seeding has benefits in Xinjiang

Manasi county in Changji Hui autonomous prefecture of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region plans to sow grass seeds from the air to cover 3,666 hectares of land this year.

For the past month, the county has been promoting the remediation of vegetation via aerial seeding, which helps curb soil erosion, control air pollution and protect biodiversity.

Sowers in the air are able to quickly cover large land areas with varied topography at low cost.

Wang Jianghong, vice-director of the county's bureau of natural resources, said that mountainous ground in the county's southern area have complex topography that would be challenging to plant by hand or machine on the ground. 

"The aerial seeding method will spread the seeds evenly," he said.

This time, the central government has invested 3.3 million yuan ($504,000) for the vegetation restoration project, which will benefit 600 herders in five villages. 

"The project will help boost the development of animal husbandry and ecological tourism," Wang said.