Dim Sums: Agricultural Markets in China: Conservation Tillage Boosts Wheat Yields

According to data collected from 733 plots in Shandong Province, wheat planted using conservation tillage had yields that were 8.7% higher than wheat using traditional methods. The yield from wheat under conservation tillage was 490.5 kg/mu (7357 kg/ha), 39.5 kg higher than traditional methods.

There was a big campaign to introduce conservation tillage last year. Techniques include subsoiling, ploughing wheat straw into the soil, no-till with precision seeding, stratified fertilization and treating seeds with fertilizer.

There is a subsidy for subsoiling which typically requires expensive equipment. Agricultural bureaus have been giving training to members of agricultural machinery cooperatives. The provincial agricultural machinery bureau and agriculture department distributed suggestions for spring that included topdressing with fertilizer and spraying pesticides and herbicides.