Xiangyang Daily (Sun Xiuting and Bi Xueqian, the Journalists, and Nie Huida and Zhai Huashan, the Correspondents) After the 2026 Spring Equinox, as one walks across the vast fields of Zaoyang, Xiangyang, Hubei Province, long known as the “granary of northern Hubei Province”, expanses of wheat can be seen lush and vibrant, growing vigorously. Along the edges of the fields, plant-protection drones rise into the air and fly steadily along preset routes guided by the Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), efficiently carrying out spring field management operations. In this major grain-producing city, a “spring plowing panorama” infused with technological innovation is gradually unfolding.

At present, wheat field management has reached a critical stage. In the 10,000-mu high-standard farmland of the Shunhui Agricultural Machinery Cooperative in Zaoyang, three plant-protection drones are building an efficient technological defense line for the winter wheat resuming growth by preventing and controlling pests and diseases. Operators set parameters through intelligent terminals, enabling the drones to autonomously avoid obstacles and spray evenly, changing the past situation of low efficiency and uneven spraying in manual operations.

“Look how well this wheat is growing! Because of the weather last year, the wheat was sown late, but with proper management this year, an increase of about 5% in yield per mu should not be a problem,” said Shen Hui, Head of the cooperative, confidently after checking real-time data through the smart monitoring platform.

In the cooperative’s dispatch center, numbers flicker across a wall-sized electronic display. On the BeiDou Smart Agriculture Management and Service Platform, information such as soil moisture, meteorological data, and the movement tracks of agricultural machinery can all be viewed briefly.

“Now I can sit indoors and both check the crop conditions and remotely dispatch machine operators to carry out tasks. It’s convenient and saves effort,” Shen Hui said. Through a single screen, the cooperative can monitor in real time the location, operation quality, and status images of agricultural machinery during land preparation, sowing, plant protection, and harvesting, enabling the entire process of mechanized farming to be visualized and controlled. “This year we have also purchased two of the latest drones for spring field management to ensure that pest and disease control is completed efficiently and effectively.”

Due to continuous rainfall during last year’s autumn sowing, some fields were planted later than usual, and crop growth conditions became polarized. In response, Zaoyang has mobilized agricultural technical forces at both the municipal and township levels, organizing more than 100 technicians to work on the front line. Through roving guidance and on-site demonstrations, they provide hands-on instruction to farmers on spring farming activities, seizing the farming season and addressing shortcomings to lay a solid foundation for stable, increased grain production throughout the year.

In Yuzui Village of Juwan Town, agricultural technicians crouch along the field ridges, carefully examining the growth of wheat seedlings and soil moisture conditions, and issuing on-the-spot “crop care prescriptions” for farmers. “During this period, the priority is to prevent and control aphids; the second is to spray foliar fertilizers to enhance photosynthesis; and the third is to apply plant growth regulators,” said Guo Guidong, an agronomist from the Zaoyang Agricultural Technology Extension Center, as he explained the technical points face-to-face with farmers.

From monitoring seedling growth and controlling pests and diseases to managing water and fertilizer and preventing natural disasters, agricultural technicians have moved their classrooms into the fields, delivering technology directly into farmers’ hands. “With agricultural experts providing on-site guidance and drone-based crop protection becoming more convenient, technology is advancing all the time. We, farmers feel much more confident about cultivating the land,” said Wei Jianjun, a wheat grower from Juwan Town.

As a national large-scale commodity grain base and one of Hubei Province’s 55 major grain-producing counties, Zaoyang has, in recent years, continued to increase investment in smart agriculture. Modern agricultural technologies such as drone-based crop protection, the BDS, and intelligent monitoring are spreading rapidly and gaining wider adoption, making spring plowing and field management more precise, greener, and more efficient.

This year, Zaoyang has set its targets for spring field management covering 1.4 million mu of wheat and 120,000 mu of rapeseed, alongside the goal of stable and increased grain production throughout the year. Focusing on major grain-growing households, Zaoyang is promoting the implementation of various measures directly in the fields, striving to stabilize the agricultural foundation and build a solid safeguard for a bumper summer harvest and steady grain production for the entire year.