Smart Irrigation and Innovative Cultivation Boost Potato Yields in Yongchang’s Green Demonstration Base

In Shuangqiao Village, Dongzhai Town, Yongchang County, the Green Standardized Potato Yield Improvement Demonstration Base presents a striking sight: neat rows of potato plants stretch across 800 mu (about 53 hectares), with lush green foliage and delicate white, pale pink, and light purple blossoms in full bloom. Jointly established by the Gansu Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Yongchang County Agricultural Technology Extension Service Center, and operated through the local Fengzeyuan Farmers’ Planting Cooperative, this base serves as a core experimental platform for driving technological innovation and quality improvement in the regional potato industry. For years, the base relied on a “single-ridge, single-drip-tape under-film” irrigation model, but this approach revealed limitations such as poor soil aeration and uneven water and fertilizer distribution. After years of field trials, the technical team developed an upgraded “single-ridge, double-drip-tape” precision water-fertilizer integration system. Today, the base flexibly combines both cultivation models based on field data and variety characteristics, achieving water and fertilizer savings, improved quality and efficiency, and more refined, standardized field management.

Since last year, the base has been fully equipped with intelligent water control devices. Caretakers can now monitor equipment status, power levels, and irrigation parameters in real time through a mobile app, and precisely adjust valve openings and irrigation duration with a single tap—bringing remote, digital, and precision management to water and fertilizer application. According to Zhang Yanzhong, head of the cooperative, smart devices have significantly enhanced the accuracy of experimental data on variety improvement, planting density optimization, and water regulation, providing robust support for industry development. Yongchang County benefits from abundant sunshine, large diurnal temperature variations, deep soil layers, and high organic matter content. As one of the county’s core potato-growing areas, Dongzhai Town focuses on upgrading the entire industry chain—from land transfer and technical guidance to field management and market coordination—leveraging the base’s advanced techniques to raise standardization and refinement standards across the town. In 2026, Dongzhai Town planted 7,188 mu of potatoes. Countywide, potato cultivation exceeds 100,000 mu, with elite seed production stabilizing at over 10,000 mu, ensuring a strong foundation for high-quality development. From a single smart demonstration field to a 100,000-mu industrial belt, Yongchang is empowering its specialty agriculture with improved varieties, advanced technology, and digital efficiency, injecting lasting momentum into the county’s agricultural high-quality development.