In July, rice fields adjacent to mountain tea plantations in Yunlian County, Yibin, Sichuan, ushered in the rice planting season. Previously, the scattered plots and slopes exceeding 25 degrees made it difficult for large agricultural machinery to reach the fields. Farmers relied on manual transplanting, taking three days to complete one acre of land. This year, the introduction of small tractors equipped with intelligent control systems has significantly improved the efficiency of mountain crop planting.
"Before, the tractor would slip on slopes if we weren't careful. Now, with the automatic leveling function, the machine remains stable, and the planting depth can be precisely controlled!" Zhou Qihua, a farmer in Xunsi Town, steered his tractor nimbly between narrow ridges. He explained that this tractor, not only is only 1.1 meters wide, but it's also equipped with Beidou navigation and a slope sensor, which automatically adjusts the working angle to avoid planting seedlings too deep or too shallow. This has increased the daily transplanting area of a single tractor from 8 to 20 acres. To adapt to the hilly terrain of Sichuan and Chongqing, local agricultural authorities collaborated with agricultural machinery companies to develop a "mountain-specific tractor." It features a short wheelbase design with a minimum turning radius of only 1.2 meters, making it easy to maneuver around fruit trees and rocks in the fields. Wear-resistant and non-skid tires improve grip by 40%, and a battery-powered auxiliary system reduces the impact of engine noise on farmers. They also organized 40 hands-on training sessions, teaching farmers how to set operating parameters using smart terminals.
At the rice planting base in Tengda Town, Yunlian County, smart tractors now integrate the "transplanting and fertilizing" process. Farmer Li Shurong said, "We used to have to spread fertilizer manually after transplanting. Now, the machine does it all in one go, saving 15% fertilizer usage compared to manual labor. Last year's trial rice yield increased by 10% per mu." So far, 180 smart tractors have been deployed for summer planting in Yibin, covering 120,000 mu (approximately 16,000 hectares) of rice and corn. This year, the planting cycle for mountain crops is expected to be shortened by five days, allowing ample time for subsequent pest and disease control. The local area has also established an "agricultural machinery cloud platform," allowing farmers to check tractor operation progress and locate faults via their mobile phones, while technicians provide remote repair guidance. "Now farming in mountainous areas is as easy as farming on the plains. With these excellent machines, we're sure to have a good harvest this year!" Zhou Qihua beamed as he gazed at the newly planted rice paddies.
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