Shandong village intensifies spring farming efforts

As spring approaches, more than 350,000 mu (23,333 hectares) of wheat have started to turn green in Sishui county, Jining, Shandong province, marking the onset of the intensive spring farming and irrigation period.

Among these fields, Nanchen village in Xingcun township boasts a cultivated area of 1,035 mu, mainly growing local specialty Golden Pears and wheat.

"At this critical stage of growth for our pear orchard, timely irrigation is crucial for us," said Xu Qingde, a pear grower in Nanchen village.

Adjacent to Xu's pear orchard is a piece of land of over ten square meters occupied by irrigation and distribution equipment, which provides water for the orchard in a highly efficient way, significantly saving irrigation time for villagers.

The local power supply station in Xingcun township is responsible for over 160 transformer stations, serving 62 villages in the entire town.

Prior to the spring farming and irrigation season, service staffers from the power company would visit the pear orchards, inquiring about their electricity needs and inspecting the power lines and transformer stations, Xu said.

To ensure uninterrupted power supply during the spring irrigation period, Sishui has conducted load forecasting for transformer stations and lines that are related to agricultural irrigation based on the spring electricity usage situation, said State Grid Sishui County Power Supply Co.

"We have also identified and eliminated potential safety hazards in agricultural irrigation equipment promptly, ensuring the healthy and stable operation of power facilities for agricultural irrigation," it said.

Furthermore, in line with the planting characteristics of the southern mountainous areas, the company has implemented grid-based management. They have conducted comprehensive inspections on small-scale irrigation projects and vegetable and fruit planting bases, focusing on checking for safety hazards in agricultural irrigation lines, irrigation and drainage electrical equipment, and leakage protection devices, according to the power supplier.

"The power company also promotes knowledge of safe electricity usage during spring farming and irrigation, as well as relevant preferential electricity pricing policies to farmers. This has helped us resolve electricity issues during the irrigation season, supporting farmers in increasing production and income," Xu said.

lijiaying@chinadaily.com.cn