A combine harvester gathers rice in the fields in Xinghua, Taizhou. [Photo/Taizhou Daily]

Rice harvesting is in full swing across Taizhou, with the main harvest season beginning around Oct 26 for more than 2.7 million mu (180,000 hectares) of rice. Farmers are making the most of favorable weather to harvest the crop while preparing fields for the next planting season.

The city has deployed more than 4,000 combine harvesters and prepared 3,865 grain dryers to handle the harvest. Nine service points have also been set up to support machinery operating across administrative boundaries, offering assistance with repairs and road access. Another 1,200 agricultural machines are on standby to be dispatched to areas facing heavy workloads.

Automation is playing an increasingly important role. At an unmanned smart farm in Jiangyan district, driverless harvesters follow pre-set routes through the rice fields, cutting and collecting the crop with little human intervention.

"With just a few taps on a phone, one person can coordinate several machines working together, harvesting hundreds of mu per day," said Yao Min, head of the local farming cooperative. The machines also transmit real-time yield data, while an Internet of Things platform allows farmers to monitor soil conditions and work progress on their phones.

As the rice harvest continues, farmers are also preparing to sow winter wheat. In Xinghua, growers are adopting techniques such as seed treatment, precision mechanical ditching and targeted fertilizer application. These measures are designed to support crop growth and lay the groundwork for a strong summer harvest.