Farmers pick lotus roots on Aug 22 in a shallow field in Xinshe village, Hai'an, located in Nantong in eastern Jiangsu province. In recent years, another Hai'an village, Yangshe, has taken advantage of its favorable position in a hollow on the banks of the Lixia River to develop organic planting of lotus roots. At present the area given over by the village to planting the roots covers over 80 hectares. While making full use of organic fertilizers such as biogas slurry for planting, local farmers have tried to combine lotus root planting with lobster and mullet cultivation. At the same time, they have utilized the local water supply scientifically to improve the yield per hectare and effectively increase their incomes. [Photo/IC]