Li Hongwen, He Jin, Wang Qingjie

College of Engineering, China Agricultural University;

Key Laboratory of Agricultural Equipment for Conservation Tillage, Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs

China has started CA research since 1992, and the CA innovation achievements have received 5 National Science and Technology Progress Awards from China central government, and China government has published strong policies for CA development, from technology innovation to extension. With technology innovation and government policies, CA in China has been developed from a simple research project to agricultural main technology, and to national policy. This presentation will show the 30-year story of CA in China, divided into three stages. In the first stage, China has conducted research on small-scale conservation tillage machines in the area with one crop a year on the Loess Plateau. The machines included no-till seeders, subsoilers, and subsurface tillers. The technical model of conservation tillage has been developed, combining no-till with less tillage, and the straw cover rate more than 30% after sowing, which has prompted the Chinese government to implement China CA demonstration and extension project. In the second stage, with sufficient fresh maize straw cover after harvest in the wheat-maize two crops a year area, power-driven anti-blocking and minimum tillage sowing wheat technology was developed. Combining with the maize no-till sowing technology, annual conservation tillage in the wheat and maize two crops a year area has been achieved, that is, no plough is required throughout the year, and more than 30% of the land is covered with straw, which has prompted the Chinese government to formulate a planning for the construction of conservation tillage. In the third stage, on the basis of previous research and demonstration, focusing on the protection of black soil in Northeast China, the operational performance of no-tillage seeders has been improved through navigation technology, information technology, and control technology, especially the precision seeding performance under high-speed condition. It has contributed to the formulation of an action plan for conservation tillage on black soil by the Chinese government. A popular cartoon book on CA technology edited by China, which has been translated into 9 languages, is also presented. Through 30 years of technical accumulation, the conservation tillage team of China Agricultural University has not only built the China Institute for Conservation Tillage of CAU, but also built the Conservation Tillage Research Center (CTRC), and the Key Laboratory of Agricultural Equipment for Conservation Tillage, MOA, China. The team has been recognized as an excellent innovation team by the MOA, China.