Harvest season has begun for more than 32,000 mu (2,133 hectares, 5,272 acres) of early rice in Doumen. The estimated output is 13,800 metric tons, a slight increase over the same period last year, according to the district Agriculture & Rural Affairs Bureau on June 29. 

Gaishan Village has planted 503 mu (34 hectares, 82 acres) of early-ripening rice this year, with Meixiangzhan and Jinnongxiangzhan as the main varieties. The paddy fields in Gaishan Village are contracted by the cooperative, and the planting, spraying, and harvesting are followed by one-stop services, according to Zhou Yueyou, deputy Party chief of the village.

Mechanized methods are utilized in Doumen to harvest rice [Photo provided to Zhuhai Media Group]

After harvesting, some large grain growers in the village transported the unhusked rice to the Dehui Rice Drying Center in Yuekeng Village, Baijiao Town, and dried it through mechanized methods. Constructed at the end of 2020, the drying center covers an area of nearly 800 sq m (.2 acre) and has two dryers, which can dry 30 tons of unhusked rice per day.

With the mechanized operation, it only takes one day for the paddy to be harvested and hulled into new rice, which cuts the drying time, reduces post-production losses, and ensures a bumper harvest of the summer grains.