Strawberry planting in Maqiao town – administered by Jingjiang city, in East China's Jiangsu province – has achieved major technical breakthroughs.
With the help of the Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, strawberry plantations in Maqiao have been equipped with the internet of things, automated monitoring and management systems, cold storage and other facilities.
A micro weather station is installed on a seedling greenhouse in Maqiao. [Photo/xuexi.cn]
"The outside of the strawberry bases don't differ much from ordinary greenhouses," said Zhao Zhenyu, head of the strawberry seedling expansion center in the Maqiao Urban Modern Agricultural Industrial Park.
"But one of the more obvious differences is that there is a monitoring device installed above the greenhouse – and there are movable rods and black mulch on the roof," Zhao added.
Zhao Zhenyu records data. [Photo/xuexi.cn]
Zhao said that the monitoring device collects and analyzes information – including temperature and humidity – which allows growers to get real-time information on their cellphones.
Growers can get real-time information on cellphones with the IoT systems. [Photo/xuexi.cn]
Experts from the Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences can also eyeball the real-time situation remotely through the IoT systems. This is to help the seedlings grow in the most suitable environment, as water and fertilizer can be accessed with micro-nozzles.
To date, the first batch of 12,000 seedlings has been successfully cultivated in Maqiao town and the seedlings are expected to reach 700,000 in the 18-mu (1.2 hectares) strawberry base.