In Raoyang county, Hebei province, a high-tech approach is overturning long-held beliefs that North China's sweltering summers are ill-suited for seedling cultivation. At the Zhixin Digital Seedling Breeding Industrial Park in Raoyang in Hengshui city, algorithms now replace gut instinct.
The cutting-edge solutions are transforming challenging conditions of high temperatures, heavy rain and intense sunlight into precisely controlled parameters, enabling consistent and high-quality seedling production in the hot season.
"In the past, we relied on experience. Now, we rely on algorithms," said Wei Fangcui, the park's director, while navigating the park's cloud-based management platform via a tablet.
The system integrates over a dozen critical parameters, including micro-climate, soil conditions, and crop growth stages, using machines to autonomously optimize irrigation, nutrient delivery, light exposure and ventilation cycles. Stepping into the vast complex reveals a scene of quiet efficiency — automated rail-guided seedling beds glide smoothly, precision spray systems deliver moisture, and clusters of internet of things sensors display temperature and humidity data in real time.
Read more at China Daily
