Henan rushes to harvest wheat after steady rains

A green transport channel has been opened to ensure the smooth passage of agricultural machinery at a expressway exit in Henan province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

After six consecutive rainy days, Henan province has taken steps to bring in the harvest, including sending 600 emergency harvest service teams.

Rain can be devastating to wheat, and the province has seen more wet weather during the wheat harvest period than in more than a decade. Fields have been hit by floods, lodging, mildew and pre-harvest sprouting.

It started raining on Thursday and has continued, with an average of 35 millimeters as of Tuesday. Eleven cities received more than 30mm of rain, the provincial meteorological station said.

A machine harvests wheat in Zhenping county of Nanyang, Henan province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

According to the meteorological department's forecast, the rain will end on Tuesday in most places. From then until June 13, other than sporadic rainfall in some areas, the main wheat-growing areas of the province will be mostly cloudy, which is conducive to large-scale machine harvesting.

So far, 2,575 square kilometers of wheat have been harvested — about 4.52 percent of the expected total, according to the provincial agricultural authority.

The wheat harvest is expected to be completed by about June 15.

The normal maturation and harvest of wheat in Henan province has been severely affected by consecutive days of rainy weather. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

More than 600 emergency harvest teams have been organized to help farmers in remote areas or those with transportation difficulties.

The existing 170,000 wheeled combine harvesters and more than 30,000 tracked harvesters will be used to maximize the yield. Meanwhile, coordination with neighboring provinces is being carried out. Green transport channels have been opened to ensure the smooth passage of agricultural machinery.

The normal maturation and harvest of wheat in Henan province has been severely affected by consecutive days of rainy weather. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]