On October 9th, Liaoyang Conservation Tillage Technology On-site Meeting was held on a farmland of Xiaodaizi Agricultural Machinery Cooperative, Dahenan Town, Dengta City, Liaoyang City. LV Youhong, Deputy Mayor of Liaoyang City, MA Yuehong, vice president of Shenyang Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wu Hanyong, director of Liaoning Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Liu Zhe, director of Liaoyang Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, Du Zhenyu, director of Liaoyang Municipal Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau, Fang Yunting, deputy director of the Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Prof. Zhang Xudong of IAE, and the leaders and technicians from the agricultural and agricultural machinery sectors of Liaoning Province and Dengta City shared the joy of the cooperative’s harvest, and discussed the plan for implementing conservation tillage in 2021.

Straw mulching helps the soil and water conservation

Directly use the no-tillage seeding-machine to sow, instead of cleaning up the straw and preparing the soil — this is the 'conservation tillage with straw mulching' technology. Prof. Zhang Xudong, a research scientist from the Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences said: "conservation tillage technology is a modern farming technology system based on crop straw mulching and no-till sowing, which can effectively reduce soil erosion by water and wind, increase soil fertility and drought resistance, protect the environment, save farming costs and improve efficiency. Its core idea is to move as little soil as possible and cover as much straw as possible on the ground surface. After more than ten years of research, our research team has summarised a set of protective farming technology paradigm, including agricultural machinery supporting system and demonstration and promotion system that is suitable for Northeast China."

"There are many benefits of implementing 'no-tillage with straw mulching.' First, it increases soil nutrient storage. It is estimated that returning straw to the field can increase the absolute content of soil organic matter by about 0.1% per year, and can also increase nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, and reduce the application of chemical fertilizers by roughly 20%. Second, it enhances soil drought resistance and moisture retention. Straw mulching increases soil water storage and water infiltration efficiency, which is equivalent to an increase of 40-50mm of precipitation, so it can effectively resist spring drought. Third, it helps protect the environment and the soil, reduce floating sand and dust, reduce soil erosion by water and wind, and avoid air pollution caused by straw burning. Studies have shown that 30% straw mulching can reduce soil erosion by 70-80%. Fourth, it saves farming costs and increases farming efficiency. This technology can reduce the number of motor vehicles entering the field and reduce labor input, which can save 1,000-1,500 yuan per hectare in cost and increase grain yield by 5-10%." Prof. Zhang Xudong told the reporter.

Curbing the degradation of black land is a national strategy

During a visit to Lishu Town on July 22, 2020, General Secretary XI Jinping called for "summarising and promoting the Lishu model, and taking effective measures to effectively protect and reasonably use the black land, i.e., 'Giant panda in arable land,' so that it will always benefit the people." On July 4 and August 22, 2019, Vice Premier HU Chunhua twice visited the Conservation Tillage Demonstration Base of IAE. He called for "speeding up the promotion of the good model for the protection of black soil in Northeast China." The "Northeast China's Black Land Conservation Tillage Initiative (2020-2025)" has been issued, while the area of conservation tillage in Liaoning Province is planned to reach 8 million mu in 2020. "Our country has made great efforts to protect the black land, and General Secretary XI likened the black land to giant pandas. Well, we are the breeders or conservationists of these giant pandas," said Prof. Zhang Xudong. At present, IAE, in cooperation with the Liaoyang Municipal Government, has begun to vigorously promote conservation tillage technology in Liaoyang. There are three demonstration sites deployed in Liaoyang. The local cooperatives have purchased a number of no-till machines, and the first year of implementing conservation tillage has achieved good economic and ecological benefits.

Promoting a new technology in rural areas is not a matter of overnight

It is not easy to promote a new technology in rural areas. Prof. Zhang Xudong said: "We drafted technical specifications, established Liaoning Provincial Conservation Tillage Demonstration & Promotion Network, and formed a '3 in 1' Demonstration & Promotion Paradigm that is supported by scientific institutes, agricultural authorities and agro-machinery (or farmer) cooperatives. We now have 15 sites for experimental and demonstration purposes." Each year, Prof. ZHANG Xudong and his colleagues traveled thousands of kilometers, visiting conservation tillage demonstration bases, attending on-site meetings and organising training meetings to teach how to use and promote the new technology. Nowadays, the application area of conservation tillage technology in Liaoning has reached more than 3 million mu, covering the main corn growing areas in Liaoning. ZHANG said that retaining straw in the field is a top priority for this year's autumn harvest in Liaoning, and they are confident that, with the support of provincial and municipal relevant departments, Liaoning will do a good job in conservation tillage.

Mainstream media including Xinhua News Agency, People's Daily Online, China Youth Daily, China Science Daily  Liaoning Daily and Liaoning TV have reported the on-site meeting.