Hengyang County, Hunan: Vibrant Spring Boosts Intensive Seedling Cultivation in the Fields

The recent rise in temperatures has created ideal conditions for cultivating early rice seedlings. In the vast fields of Hengyang County, Hunan Province, local specialized rice planting cooperatives and large grain growers are seizing this opportunity to begin early-season rice seedling cultivation.

Employees are busy with their work in the seedling factory

Photo by Wang Qin

At the seedling factory of the Qunxing High-Quality Rice Planting Specialized Cooperative in Hengyang County, several employees are busy working on the production line, carefully placing nutrient soil, spraying water, sowing seeds, and covering seedling trays with soil. High-quality rice seeds in seedling trays are continuously produced from production lines and transported via automated conveyor belts before being neatly arranged on the ground by employees and subsequently transported to seedling greenhouses. "In about 20 days, farmers will come to pick up seedlings from the cooperative's greenhouse and plant them directly in the field," said a production line operator.

In recent years, to help grain farmers reduce costs and labor while enhancing efficiency, Hengyang County—Hunan's primary grain production region—has consistently promoted factory-based  and intensive commercial seedling cultivation as a crucial strategy for ensuring early rice production area. The county offers subsidies according to standards to specialized cooperatives and large grain growers engaged in factory-based early rice production and intensive commercialized seedling cultivation. Currently, Hengyang County has established intensive seedling cultivation facilities covering 541,300 sqm, which can serve an area of 400,000 mu (about 26,666.67 hectares).