Qingdao's 3.8 million mu of autumn grain crops have entered the critical stage of yield formation. The Municipal Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau has mobilized the entire agricultural system to address potential risks including high temperatures, high humidity, sudden transitions from drought to flood, and major pest infestations. A coordinated approach targeting three key areas - disaster prevention and reduction, agricultural technical services, and policy support - has been implemented, with all field management measures being executed in an orderly manner. Currently, autumn grain crops are growing steadily overall, with corn, the primary autumn grain crop, showing promising prospects for a bountiful harvest.

Proactive Measures to Stay Ahead of Disasters

"Drainage channels must be cleared in advance - when critical moments arrive, drainage capacity becomes a lifeline. We need to guard against both waterlogging and prepare for potential drought conditions." At the corn planting base of Chunqiu Yongwang Cooperative in Lancun Sub-district, Jimo District, staff from the Municipal Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau's Planting Division crouched at the field edge, inspecting irrigation facilities while advising cooperative director Wang Desheng. Since the start of the flood season, Qingdao has experienced landfall of Typhoons "Bavi" and "White Dolphin," with accompanying heavy rainfall causing water accumulation in some low-lying areas, followed by hot and sunny weather that brought drought to certain sloping thin-soiled terrains. As corn enters the critical grain-filling window, the meteorological situation has become more complex - there is a need to guard against lodging and waterlogging caused by typhoon-force winds and short-duration heavy rainfall, while also remaining vigilant against drought risks from high temperatures and low precipitation. The dual challenges of drought and flood require simultaneous attention.

To address these challenges, the Municipal Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau has insisted on a "dual focus on drought and flood" approach, organizing multiple rounds of agricultural expert teams to conduct disaster prevention and reduction guidance tours across all districts and cities. Currently, 37 regional agricultural machinery social service centers across the city have stockpiled over 5,000 sets of emergency operation equipment, ready for immediate deployment in drainage and emergency harvesting operations when extreme weather strikes. Meanwhile, agriculture and rural affairs, meteorology, water resources, and emergency management departments have established a direct early warning mechanism, increasing the frequency of joint consultations and pushing real-time warning information and field response guidelines via SMS and WeChat groups to ensure risks are identified, planned for, and responded to early.

Agricultural Technical Services Supporting Field Management

"We are now in the corn grain-filling stage, which is critical for determining kernel weight. Everyone should closely monitor soil moisture and weather conditions - for fields with insufficient moisture, replenish water promptly during the cooler morning and evening periods." At the green grain production increase demonstration base in Liaolan Town, Pingdu City, a technical exchange and observation activity for wheat-corn yield improvement was held. Sun Xuliang, Senior Agronomist at the Municipal Agricultural Technology Center, peeled back corn husks and touched the plump kernels as he spoke.

"In the past, farming relied on 'watching the sky for food,' but now we follow experts to learn technology - grain farming gives us more confidence!" Shao Tongsheng, a major grain grower from Nancun Town, Pingdu City, who attended the field observation, calculated his returns for reporters. "This year, I planted 600 mu of corn using new dense planting technology - over 5,000 plants per mu with precise water-fertilizer integrated drip irrigation. The corn is growing uniformly with more ears. At this rate, gaining an extra 150 jin per mu is no problem!"

At the green grain production increase demonstration base in Guhe, Laixi City, a field observation activity for major corn pest and disease control technology was held. "Trichogramma wasps absorb nutrients from pest eggs to complete their own development, preventing pest eggs from hatching, thus stopping pest damage at the source before larvae can cause harm." Yuan Zongying, Senior Agronomist at the Municipal Agricultural Technology Center, explained the biological control principle of "food attractants plus Trichogramma wasps" to farmers in easily understandable language.

In recent days, the city has deeply implemented the "Excellent Services, Strong Field Management, Disaster Resistance for Autumn Grain Harvest" agricultural technology campaign, organizing over 1,000 agricultural technicians to work in assigned areas, visit villages and households, conduct routine field surveys and guidance tours, and provide face-to-face consultations on seedling conditions, pest diagnosis, and treatment prescriptions - ensuring services reach fields and responsibilities are assigned to individuals. Concurrently, the Municipal Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau has issued technical documents including "Technical Opinions on Mid-to-Late Stage Field Management for Autumn Grains" and produced short technical videos such as "Key Technical Points for Summer Corn Management." Agricultural experts have been organized through WeChat exchanges to answer growers' technical questions on field management and pest control, with continuous online and offline training and exchange activities. A total of 6 field classrooms and observation activities, 30+ technical lectures, and 320+ technical problem-solving sessions have been conducted, ensuring key field management techniques reach the fields at the fastest possible speed.

Policy Support Bolstering Harvest Confidence

At the corn field of Qingfeng Seed Base in Liaolan, Pingdu, drip irrigation belts are precisely delivering alginate-enhanced fertilizer to corn root zones, effectively strengthening root vitality and nutrient absorption capacity during the grain-filling period. "Water-fertilizer integration is the 'golden key' to agricultural water and fertilizer efficiency, stress resistance, and high yields. By precisely delivering water and fertilizer to crop roots as needed, compared to traditional planting methods, it increases yield by over 10%, improves water use efficiency by over 20%, and enhances fertilizer utilization by over 15%." Jiang Wen, a position expert for the Shandong Province Corn Industry Technology System and professor at Qingdao Agricultural University, stood between field ridges, inspecting drip tape water flow while explaining to major grain growers.

This base is a microcosm of Qingdao's grain and oil large-scale planting entity yield improvement project. Through project support, large-scale planting entities have installed drip irrigation facilities with intelligent water-fertilizer machines, pioneering the adoption of water-fertilizer integration models and subsequently driving neighboring farmers to follow suit. For autumn grain production, the Municipal Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau has launched the "Technology to Increase Yield, Autumn Grain to Achieve Bumper Harvest" two-month promotion campaign, focusing on three key tasks: yield improvement and efficiency enhancement, contract service quality upgrading, and disaster prevention and reduction assurance. Working with the Municipal Finance Bureau, six major policy projects have been coordinated and implemented - from yield improvement to pest and disease control subsidies, from strip compound planting to agricultural machinery purchase subsidies, from socialized service trusteeship to agricultural insurance coverage. This comprehensive policy service guarantee system spanning the entire chain builds a solid backing for the autumn grain harvest, giving grain farmers true peace of mind.

"Winning the autumn grain defense battle tests farmland facilities, measures agricultural resilience, and safeguards the food security bottom line," said the relevant person in charge of the Municipal Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau. The city's agricultural system will further shoulder the political responsibility for food security, using the "two-month promotion" campaign as a key lever, continuously consolidating infrastructure, improving emergency response systems, strengthening technological empowerment, and perfecting policy guarantees. Field management, drought and flood response, disaster prevention and damage reduction measures will all be implemented with precision, ensuring that good farmland withstands any weather and that harvest confidence remains unshakable.