In late August, the heat of summer still lingers across the central Sichuan hills, though early autumn breezes have begun to drift through the fields. Along the roadside in Yanhe Village, Huilong Town, Zhongjiang County, nearly 100 mu of land has already been planted with cauliflower, with tender seedlings just beginning to emerge.

"Old Xi, where's your corn?" "You've come a bit late—we just finished harvesting it all! Vegetables are going in right away." Large-scale grain farmer Xi Hujian strolled leisurely along the field edge, clearly pleased with himself. Compared to previous years, July this year brought longer stretches of high temperatures and above-average heat, yet surprisingly, it yielded an impressive new record—corn production reached 749.6 kilograms per mu after adjusting for standard moisture content, a more than 70% increase over the local average yield from the previous year.

Despite Xi Hujian's current cheerfulness, he was deeply worried at the start of this year's spring season. He had contracted over 530 mu of land for corn cultivation, but last year's harvest had been disappointing—low yields and poor profitability. "How can I boost productivity?" he kept pondering before sowing. Just then, the local agricultural bureau approached him: "How about we take on a joint challenge?"

It turned out that to maximize yield potential, Sichuan launched the "Tianfu Granary · Hundred Counties, Thousand Plots" construction initiative in 2024, set to run for three consecutive years. This program deployed hundreds of expert teams and tens of thousands of agritechnicians to collectively demonstrate and promote superior seeds, advanced machinery, and refined techniques. Through standardized, green cultivation demonstrations, the goal is to steadily raise provincial yields while reducing the use of inputs like fertilizers year after year.

Xi Hujian's corn being bagged for sale.

In the eyes of local agricultural officials, Old Xi's 500-plus mu of land, nestled against the Kaijiang River with level terrain and interconnected irrigation channels, held significant untapped potential. "Of that, 180 mu was designated as a 'Corn Hundred-Mu Ultra-High-Yield Demonstration Plot.'" Achieving ultra-high yields starts with the seeds. "This seed variety is excellent—I recommend you switch to it," the local agricultural bureau suggested, providing Xi Hujian with a premium corn variety called "Zhenghong 507." Developed by Sichuan Agricultural University, this improved variety is one of the province's major certified cultivars, offering strong resistance to stress, lodging, and disease. It effectively guards against leaf blight, stalk rot, seedling blight, and fungal growth.

Xi Hujian's corn being dried.

How to cultivate it is an even greater science. "Previously, after harvesting vegetables, we had to till the soil first. Now, with the planter developed by Sichuan Agricultural University, we skip the rotary tillage step and sow seeds and fertilizer together in one pass," Xi Hujian explained. Even more crucial, he said, is planting more densely. "You've planted 4,200 plants per mu, filling every corner, while my plot only has 3,000—no wonder you get a bigger harvest," joked a fellow farmer nearby. Xi Hujian noted that the denser machine planting comes with a hidden benefit: reducing soil disturbance indirectly contributes to drought resistance.

Still, Xi Hujian vividly recalls the prolonged high temperatures and scarce rainfall of July, but he had already deployed a key tool in the field. "This is the water-fertilizer integration system," he said, pointing to a long black PE pipe running along the field edge. From this main line, several thinner pipes extend, with 45 sprinkler heads evenly distributed across the plot. A simple turn of the valve sends water and nutrients through the pipes to spray precisely onto each corn plant. "The advantage is that costs are low, and the government provides subsidies—a small setup solves a big problem." As the corn plants shot upward, their sturdy stalks bearing heavy ears that burst from yellowish-green husks to reveal neat rows of plump, golden kernels, veteran grain growers nearby came to marvel: "Your corn is so large and fully filled—truly a rare sight."

Xi Hujian's corn being dried.

Finally, the moment to "show results" arrived. Early in the morning, the expert team entered the field and conducted real-time harvesting operations using a grain combine equipped with a specialized header. The full process—weighing kernels, removing impurities, and testing moisture content—was completed on-site, and yields were ultimately standardized to 14% moisture content. "The demonstration plot's corn reached 749.6 kilograms per mu at standard moisture, a 74.3% increase over the local average yield from last year!" Upon hearing the expert panel's verdict, Xi Hujian beamed with delight.

"With fully mechanized harvesting, I can finish an acre in about 20 minutes," Xi Hujian said. The 500-plus mu of corn was harvested and shelled simultaneously, and sold as fast as it was collected. "At 1.22 yuan per jin, the price is decent, and there's no trouble finding buyers." In recent days, the now-relaxed Xi Hujian has been drying about 300 jin of corn kept for personal use, while also tallying up the numbers: seeds provided free by the government, labor savings from mechanized planting and harvesting, and the extra income from higher yields... "When you add it all up, I'm earning over 600 yuan more per mu—and that's a sweet deal!"

"This high-yield cultivation model achieves a deep integration of superior varieties, advanced agronomic practices, and suitable farm machinery. The yield increase is significant, cost savings are pronounced, and the social, economic, and ecological benefits are jointly realized," the expert team noted. They added that the model is highly adaptable to the production conditions of the central Sichuan hilly region and holds strong potential for large-scale promotion. They recommended expanding the demonstration scope to help more farmers adopt high-yield technologies and achieve greater production and income.