Realizing “unmanned driving” in rice harvesting operations

The rice harvester reaped rice orderly in the field, but there was no staff in the cab… On the morning of July 15, in the scorching sun, a smart and healthy agricultural scene was held in the Xiayuan Base of Guangdong Haina Modern Agricultural Ecological Park in Huicheng District, where the “driverless” demonstration of rice harvesting was performed in the field, and the visitors stood in tents to feel the pleasant scene brought by agricultural technology.

Eyes full of golden color, with a tempting aroma of rice. At the harvesting site, a grain truck and a harvester worked closely together to harvest the rice in one go. Another unmanned tractor tills the harvested rice fields. The reporter saw through the car window that the driver’s cabin was empty. Originally, these three agricultural machinery efficiently and accurately completed a complete set of operations through Beidou satellite signals and meticulous computer programs.

The on-site meeting was held by Guangdong Haina Agricultural Co., Ltd., which showed the unmanned harvesting technology developed by Luo Xiwen, an academician of the CAE Member and a professor of South China Agricultural University, the soil fertility improvement technology of Nanjing Institute of Soil Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, rice functional strengthening technology, high-quality silk seedling rice varieties (19 Xiang, Meixiangzhan, Nanjingxiangzhan, etc.), rice two three harvest modes and other agricultural technologies.

“Unmanned farms can not only solve the problem of who will plant the land, but also allow people to plant the land without going into the field.” Academician Luo Xiwen introduced on the spot that, taking the unmanned tractor as an example, the lateral error during driving is not more than 2.5 cm, and the row spacing, line spacing and seeding amount are uniform, which ensures the uniformity of seeding, and thus improves the land utilization rate.

According to statistics, the local yield of high-quality silk seedling rice 19 Xiang is around 500 kilograms per acre, and the yield produced by unmanned farms can reach 662.29 kilograms, increasing by more than 30%.

Smart agriculture is the direction of future agriculture. On the same day, Academician Luo Xiwen awarded the plaque of “Unmanned Farm Demonstration Base of South China Agricultural University” to Haina Agriculture. At present, Academician Luo Xiwen’s team has established 28 unmanned farms nationwide. Haina is the first in Huizhou, which marks an important step towards agricultural modernization in Huizhou.

In February this year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Finance identified Huicheng District Modern Agricultural Industrial Park as a national modern agricultural industrial park. It is reported that, as the leading entity of the industrial park, Haina Agriculture has been committed to extending the rice industry chain in recent years. It has cooperated with numerous universities and research institutes both inside and outside the province to promote multiple models such as rice field three-dimensional planting and breeding, rice parks, research travel, and science education. It has achieved the integration of water rice planting, processing, leisure tourism experience, and the development of one, two, and three industries, increased the added value of the agricultural industry, and driven farmers to increase production and income.