Ratoon cropping to boost grain yield in East China
Xinhua | Updated: 2023-08-20 22:25
NANCHANG -- East China's Jiangxi province has made a breakthrough in the practice of ratoon cropping, as the major grain producer adopts ratoon rice to enhance its grain yield.
The yield measurement result released on Sunday indicated the average yield per mu (about 667 square meters) in the early season of the rice ratoon crops reached 905.1 kg, nearing the national standard for super hybrid rice.
Ratoon cropping is a rice planting model in which rice crops are able to regrow from the stubble after the first harvest, according to experts.
Three plots of land were randomly selected for the test within a demonstration area that covers an area of 170 mu in the province's Poyang county, said Wu Wenge, head of the expert panel, adding that additional efforts are underway to cultivate the crop.
"Ratoon rice can be harvested twice a season, which would save time and money for farmers," said Xiong Zongyu, a ratoon rice grower in Poyang.
The planting area of ratoon rice in Jiangxi has surpassed 2 million mu, and as technology advances, the crop is expected to play a significant role in contributing to the overall grain yield, said Shao Caihong, a researcher at the provincial academy of agricultural sciences.
