As the golden autumn season blankets the eastern Guizhou landscape with rolling waves of rice, the rice breeding base at Guiya Village, Dalu Town, Songtao Miao Autonomous County presents a stunning vista of ripened grain. The contiguous paddy fields stretch out in a sea of gold, with heavy rice panicles swaying gently in the breeze while harvesters roar through the fields, creating a vibrant scene of autumn agricultural activity.
In 2026, the 60 acres of rice breeding paddies in Guiya Village, Dalu Town, entered their concentrated harvest phase. Crawler-type combine harvesters ventured into the golden rice sea, seamlessly completing the cutting, threshing, and cleaning processes in one fluid operation. Plump rice seeds cascaded continuously through the discharge conveyor pipes, while local farmers busily bagged and transported the yield, with some loading the seeds directly onto trucks for shipment. The entire field radiated the joy of a plentiful harvest.
According to available information, the breeding base has achieved a per-acre yield of 250 kilograms, with the purchase price for rice seeds set at 6.65 yuan per jin (half a kilogram). Unlike conventional grain farming, rice breeding focuses on cultivating superior seed varieties, providing high-quality germplasm resources for local rice variety improvement and the promotion of quality seeds—a critical link in safeguarding food security. Leveraging its mountainous agricultural characteristics, Songtao has vigorously developed the rice seed breeding industry, positioning quality seed cultivation as a key pillar for ensuring grain production.
Dalu Town has capitalized on its favorable climate and soil conditions to establish standardized rice breeding demonstration plots, implementing mechanized operations throughout the entire process. From sowing and field management to maturation and harvesting, every stage is subject to rigorous quality control, effectively overcoming the challenges of mountain-area seed breeding and bringing scientific research achievements directly to the fields.
"The success of the breeding fields directly impacts subsequent rice variety trials and demonstration promotion," explained Zhao Jianjun, a base staff member. He noted that seed breeding demands exceptionally high standards of field management, requiring meticulous attention from seed selection and field care through to harvesting and collection. The smooth completion of this 60-acre breeding harvest not only yielded a substantial batch of premium rice seeds but also laid a solid foundation for upcoming variety screening and seed multiplication efforts.
As machines hum and grain fills the storerooms, these gleaming rice seeds carry the aspirations of eastern Guizhou's mountainous agricultural development. These modest breeding plots serve as both testing grounds for seed innovation and practical arenas for rural revitalization. Songtao remains committed to deepening its rice seed breeding industry, using superior varieties to empower mountain grain production, embedding technological strength into the fields of eastern Guizhou, and injecting seed industry momentum into Guizhou's high-quality agricultural development.