The ability of drought resistance, waterlogging prevention and lodging resistance of maize planted in wide and narrow rows with conservation tillage technology has been greatly enhanced.

The ability of drought resistance, waterlogging prevention and lodging resistance of maize planted in wide and narrow rows with conservation tillage technology has been greatly enhanced. Photographed by Zhang Xinyu

On the 19th, after a heavy rain, lush green waves rolled up in the farmland, and the traces of soil at the root of corn and the consistency of soil became the yardstick for testing soil absorption and loss. Sun Dachuan, the person in charge of the Dachuan Cooperative in Yushu City, came to the field to check the situation, and the role of conservation tillage in water storage and moisture conservation was clear at a glance: the soil was shiny, not dry or wet, and the hands were moist without leaving dust.

When corn enters the filling period, it is also the time when water is most needed. Several summer rains come at the right time. At this time, Sun Dachuan is not confused by good rain, nor is he afraid of typhoons or frequent rainfall. Both drought prevention and waterlogging reduction are the cooperative's plans for 600 hectares of land, and the cooperative has adhered to the conservation tillage and scientific planting and fertilization methods for nearly 10 years, giving it the confidence to face the changeable weather.

"After the full amount of straw is returned to the field, the straw covered on the surface of the land can not only be decomposed and returned to the field to increase fertility, but also slow down the rain wash and infiltration." Sun Dachuan told reporters that the benefits of conservation tillage can be seen at this time. With this technology, the grain gap of cultivated soil is larger, and the permeability is good. Even if there is soil that seeps into the field with rain, there is no need to worry about these soils going nowhere, Don't worry about soil hardening.

In the conservation tillage of straw returning to the field, deep loosening at seedling stage is a key link. After full straw returning and deep loosening at seedling stage, the effect of preventing water and soil loss is obvious. Sun Dachuan preliminarily estimated that the runoff can be reduced by 60% on average, and the soil loss can be reduced by 80% compared with traditional planting methods.

Looking at the whole land from a distance, the maize planted in wide and narrow rows interlaced is like a comb assembled by a precision machine - the cooperative reduces the wind force between crops by adjusting the planting spacing.

"When applying fertilizer, we put fertilizer into the lower left corner and the lower right corner of the corn root respectively, which will not affect the nutrient absorption of each other." Sun Dachuan turned out the photos of the root system when he was still working in the experimental field, and saw that the roots of two maize plants with narrow spacing were "tightly intertwined". The maize roots with narrow spacing grow alternately and support each other, so that the crops can grasp the ground more firmly and prevent lodging.

Drought resistance, disease resistance and lodging resistance are words that appear in almost all agricultural products such as seeds and fertilizers, but it is not so simple to realize them. In addition to conservation tillage, the cooperatives have also made innovations in agricultural means such as fertilization and seeds. Nowadays, the traditional fertilization method of "planting fertilizer at the same time" and "bombarding" has been eliminated. Instead, appropriate fertilizer is applied when the corn grain is full. This not only solves the problem of excessive nitrogen fertilizer in the early stage and the lack of potassium, phosphorus and other elements, but also helps to avoid the thin and weak stems, making the corn more firm. Sun Dachuan said, "The center of gravity of corn is all on the cob ear. Fertilization at about 10 leaves in the middle and later stages can control the heading height of corn at 1-1.5 meters. At the same time, a more reasonable fertilization cycle and proportion can also effectively control the growth rate of corn and effectively prevent corn from lodging."