Henan successful in combatting drought

Most of this autumn's grain in Henan province is ready for harvest in the next several days, Xinhua News reported, on Sept 27, with the harvest perhaps surprisingly successful and keeping the market stable in spite of dire predictions earlier about a downturn because of the severe summer drought.

According to the provincial agricultural bureau, one reason may be the increase in the autumn crop planting area, to 4.7 million hectares, from last year. Corn saw the largest increase, up 1.2 million mu (80,000 hectares), with sweet potatoes, soybeans, and cereal grains all bringing in good results.

To deal with the persistent summer drought, the province resorted to large drought resistant irrigation methods to keep the loss as low as possible, in a scientific way through cooperation between agronomists and farmers.

The province is also delaying the corn harvest to increase the output, and the agriculture department is working closely with meteorologists to be ready for any weather changes. And, mechanized harvesting is being more widely used.