BeiDou-fitted machinery boosts cotton sowing efficiency in Xinjiang

Cotton sowing is underway across some 113,000 hectares of farmland in Wusu City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, where smart machinery equipped with homegrown BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) is widely applied to boost efficiency and precision.

Tractors fitted with the BeiDou system are moving steadily along preset routes in the cotton fields, laying drip irrigation belts, spreading plastic film and sowing seeds in one go.

The standardized operations keep margin of error in sowing within two centimeters, while further cutting cost and raising efficiency.

"I've contracted more than 1,700 mu (some 113.4 hectares) of cotton this year. The BeiDou-guided sowing machine helps save land while ensuring straight rows," said Li Quanlai, a cotton farmer.

Local agriculture authorities said the city plans to expand the use of modern equipment such as large seeders and drones, pushing for full mechanization in cotton cultivation and harvesting.