"Rain mouth grabs food"! The latest progress in Henan wheat harvest →! Henan Province

Since May 25th, Henan, which has just entered the wheat harvesting season, has been hit by "rotten rain", seriously affecting the normal maturity and harvest of local wheat. On June 2nd, the reporter walked into Luohe City, the main wheat producing area in Henan, to visit the scene of wheat harvesting in Henan on site.

Harvesters shuttle through 160000 acres of high standard farmland in Xidapo, Yancheng District, Luohe City, busy with operations. People's Daily reporter Shen Zhi takes a telephoto

The sound of the machine roared, and the wheat straw fluttered. Harvesters shuttle through 160000 acres of high standard farmland in Xidapo, Yancheng District, Luohe City, busy with operations. When the grain tank was full, the farmer adjusted the angle and lightly pressed the unloading button. The golden wheat grains poured down and slowly piled up into a small mountain.

Harvester unloads grain. People's Daily reporter Shen Zhi takes a telephoto

"You see, there is swelling in the embryonic part, but the thin skin on top has not been arched, which is sprouting." Liu Guoqing, the director of the Xindian Agricultural Technology Promotion Regional Station in Yancheng District, grabbed a bunch of wheat on the ground, rubbed it hard in his palm, blew off the wheat husk, and painfully pulled at the wheat grains in his palm. "Look inside again, rub another ear, it's obviously much better." Liu Guoqing moved forward to the depths of the wheat field, examining the wheat grains in his hand, his eyebrows slightly relaxed.

Harvesters shuttle through 160000 acres of high standard farmland in Xidapo, Yancheng District, Luohe City, busy with operations. People's Daily reporter Shen Zhi takes a telephoto

"From May 26th to 29th, there were four consecutive days of rainfall, and the wheat in Yancheng District, Luohe City was in the middle stage of wax ripening. Although the impact was not as significant as in the southern region of Henan, there were still 203000 mu of early maturing wheat varieties and premature aging plots in the 370000 mu of wheat in the entire area affected to varying degrees, mainly manifested as sprouting and sprouting." Liu Guoqing introduced that the maturity period of wheat is divided into three stages: milk ripening, wax ripening, and complete ripening. Different maturity stages are also affected by continuous cloudy and rainy weather, and the complete ripening stage has the greatest impact, followed by the wax ripening stage, with the milk ripening stage having the smallest or even no impact.

Since May 25th, Henan has experienced "rotten rain" weather, and the wheat in the southern region of Henan is in the complete ripening period, the middle region of Henan is in the wax ripening period, and the northern region of Henan is in the milk ripening period, resulting in a phenomenon of wheat in Henan being affected from south to north, from heavy to light.

People in Yancheng District, Luohe City are rushing to harvest wheat. People's Daily reporter Shen Zhi takes a telephoto

According to the Henan Provincial Meteorological Bureau, Henan Province will experience a new round of rainfall from June 3rd to 4th. "Taking advantage of the rainy window period, day and night, we will do our best to harvest." Zhang Lingyun, Deputy Director of the Agriculture and Rural Bureau of Yancheng District, introduced that currently, the summer grain in Yancheng District has entered a large-scale harvest period. The district has formulated three emergency response plans: agricultural machinery scheduling, smooth roads, and emergency harvesting, drying, and drying. We have simplified the procedures for cross regional operations, established cross regional operation service reception stations, provided free passage for cross regional agricultural machinery, and provided comprehensive services such as free catering, machinery maintenance, parts supply, and oil guarantee for operators returning to Yancheng District. We aim to integrate agricultural machinery resources throughout the district and maximize the effectiveness of agricultural machinery equipment.

The continuous rainy weather has put the summer grain procurement work to the test. In order to conscientiously carry out the summer grain procurement work in 2023, Henan Province requires the local government to classify and purchase excessive wheat that can only be used as feed and industrial grain, strictly prevent unqualified grain from entering the grain market, and maximize the protection of the interests of grain farmers. At the same time, in order to maintain the bottom line of farmers being able to sell their crops, Henan Province will focus on investigating and punishing illegal behaviors such as grading and price reduction, issuing "IOUs", charging fees in violation of regulations, and using weighing instruments to cheat, in order to maintain good market order.

Agricultural technology experts and staff from agricultural insurance institutions conducted on-site inspections. People's Daily reporter Shen Zhi takes a telephoto

On that day, the reporter drove to Yangpeicheng Village, Wadian Town, Linying County. Along the way, it can be seen that many people on both sides of the road are drying crops on Yangchang. In places with good ventilation, such as village and town cultural squares, school playgrounds, vacant factories, front and back of houses, and flat roofs, there are also grains spread out for drying.

Arriving at a wheat field, Zhang Xuexue, the secretary of the branch of the Linying County Agricultural Technology Extension Station, was holding a ruler and continuously measuring and sampling with colleagues. Next, insurance company staff are holding their phones and taking photos from multiple angles to collect evidence.

In response to the large-scale continuous rainy weather disasters encountered during the recent wheat harvest period in Henan, on May 30th, multiple departments including the Henan Provincial Party Committee Agriculture Office, Henan Provincial Department of Finance, and Henan Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau issued notices demanding that all efforts be made to handle wheat insurance claims and minimize losses to farmers.

Zhang Xuexue, Secretary of the Agricultural Technology Extension Station Branch in Linying County, introduced the situation to the People's Daily reporter. People's Daily reporter Shen Zhi takes a telephoto

"A few days ago, I came over and sampled and counted the number of ears and grains per mu. The plots that were in danger will be harvested in the next one or two days. We will come here again to sample and count the thousand grain weight." Zhang introduced that the yield structure of wheat is composed of the number of ears per mu, the number of grains per ear, and the thousand grain weight. They can estimate the annual yield of the plot based on these three sampling and statistics, providing a basis for agricultural insurance compensation.

"Upon receiving the insurance report from the public, we conducted an on-site inspection as soon as possible. Based on the relevant materials issued by agricultural technology experts, I will submit them to the system as soon as possible to follow the process. Under normal circumstances, the insured can receive the compensation within three working days." The insurance company staff introduced the insurance compensation policy to the insured farmer Tan Guangbin. "I feel a little relieved that insurance can provide some coverage and reduce losses," said Old Tan with a slightly relaxed expression.

How to minimize the adverse effects of weather factors? What should be noted when rushing to harvest and dry? Has the quality and yield of wheat been affected? Can sprouted wheat be reused? On June 3rd, the reporter interviewed Xie Yingxin, a researcher and doctoral supervisor at the National Wheat Engineering Technology Research Center of Henan Agricultural University.

"This is the most severe 'rotten rain' weather in over a decade," Xie Yingxin said. In history, 1956, 1987, 2009, 2013, 2016, and 2018 were all years with severe sprouting.

"The continuous rainy weather this time mainly affected wheat grain filling, increased mold base, and even led to sprouting, reducing grain bulk density and thousand grain weight, which had a negative impact on yield and quality," Xie Yingxin said.

"In the long run, selecting excellent varieties with disease resistance and sprouting resistance, adopting reasonable cultivation and management measures, and post disaster remedial measures can minimize the disaster." In Xie Yingxin's view, in response to the adverse effects caused by the continuous rain, it is recommended to follow the latest ten emergency harvesting, drying and drying measures introduced by the province to seize the harvest. At the same time, priority should be given to ensuring the emergency harvesting and drying of seed fields, ensuring the safety of planting in the next season, and implementing multiple measures to minimize the adverse effects caused by extreme weather.

Can wheat that has sprouted be reused? Xie Yingxin believes that if the moisture content of wheat is not too high, or if there are storage conditions and drying equipment, it is necessary to take advantage of the rainy weather and harvest it as early as possible. However, if there are no drying conditions and storage facilities, and the moisture content of the wheat is high, it is best to air it in the ground to avoid covering the wheat after harvesting. "For this type of wheat that has already sprouted, it can be used as a feed ingredient and brewing material," Xie Yingxin said.

According to the latest news from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Henan Province, as of 8:00 am on June 4th, Henan Province has harvested 47.575 million mu of wheat. Among them: Zhumadian Wheat Harvest Big Head has landed, covering 9.064 million mu in Zhoukou, 2.602 million mu in Pingdingshan, 1.557 million mu in Luoyang, 1.477 million mu in Shangqiu, 1.267 million mu in Kaifeng, 1.129 million mu in Luohe, 1.101 million mu in Zhengzhou, 1.05 million mu in Xuchang, 799000 mu in Xinxiang, 256000 mu in Anyang, and 183000 mu in Jiaozuo.