Preliminary Study on the Mechanization Demand of Orchards in North China

Lifeng XUAN，Shuaike NIU，Jianguo WEI，Zhan CHEN，Dongfeng YANG，Shulin WANG，Lejun CUI，Guanghai WANG，Lili YANG

Shijiazhuang Pomology Institute，Hebei Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences，Shijiazhuang 050061，China

Abstract From the production management practice of fruit trees in North China by agricultural research institutions，combining the relevant national policies and documents in recent years，the demand for orchard machinery in fruit tree production of North China is summarized，and preliminary thoughts and suggestions are put forward. It could promote the joint of machinery and agriculture (industry，university，research and application departments)，and improve mechanization level of orchards in North China.

Key words Orchard mechanization，Orchard management，Mechanization demand

1 Introduction

Since 2000，China’s fruit planting area and output have ranked first in the world，and the fruit industry is the third largest agricultural planting one in China after grain and vegetables. With the structural reform of agricultural supply side，the fruit industry has become a pillar one to promote the adjustment of agricultural structure，farmers’ poverty alleviation and rural revitalization. Fruit industry is a labor-intensive one. In order to reduce the labor intensity of practitioners，improve production efficiency and promote the healthy development of the industry，it is urgent to implement orchard mechanization.

2 Necessity and urgency of orchard mechanization

2.1 Orchard mechanization being the requirement of the new stage of agricultural developmentAgricultural development has entered a new stage，and agricultural modernization is the only way. In December of 2016，the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology，the Ministry of Agriculture，and the Development and Reform Commission organized and prepared theActionPlanfortheDevelopmentofAgriculturalMachineryandEquipment(2016-2025). ThePlanpoints out that agricultural machinery and equipment is an important material basis for the development of modern agriculture. Promoting the development of agricultural machinery and equipment is the objective requirement of improving agricultural labor productivity，land output rate and resource utilization rate. It is also the practical need to support the development of agricultural mechanization，the transformation of agricultural development mode，the improvement of agricultural quality and efficiency and international competitiveness. In October of 2018，Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress revised theLawofthePeople’sRepublicofChinaonthePromotionofAgriculturalMechanizationadopted on June 25，2004. In December of 2018，the State Council issued theGuidingOpinionsoftheStateCouncilonAcceleratingthePromotionofAgriculturalMechanizationandTransformationandUpgradingofAgriculturalMachineryandEquipmentIndustry. In April of 2019，the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Areas issued theNoticeoftheMinistryofAgricultureandRuralAreasonAcceleratingtheTransformationandUpgradingofAgriculturalMechanization. In recent years，the No.1 document of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on agriculture has had related elaboration and specific deployment on agricultural mechanization. The successive issuance of these documents highlights the importance and urgency of agricultural mechanization. To meet the development requirements and realize modernization，the fruit industry needs orchard mechanization. At present，compared with rice，wheat，corn and other field crops that have achieved full mechanization，the mechanization level of the fruit industry is still relatively low，and there are still many shortcomings. It is urgent to vigorously develop and produce the advanced and applicable orchard machinery.

2.2 Orchard mechanization being the requirement of upgrading the fruit industryIn No.1 Document of 2017 (SeveralOpinionsonDeepeningtheStructuralReformofAgriculturalSupplySideandAcceleratingtheCultivationofNewDrivingForceofAgriculturalandRuralDevelopment)，guiding opinions were put forward on optimizing the industrial structure of agricultural products，deeply promoting agricultural supply side reform based on demand，and focusing on promoting agricultural quality and efficiency improvement. According to the requirements of stabilizing grain，optimizing economy and expanding feeding，as an economic crop，fruit should be optimized in variety，quality and regional layout，so as to be better and stronger，add value and increase efficiency. Only by facing the increasingly mature consumer market，upgrading，promoting orchard mechanization，improving production efficiency and fruit quality，and reducing costs，can the fruit industry meet domestic consumer demand and win a place in the fierce international market competition. In recent years，the labor cost of fruit industry has gradually increased，even accounting for more than 60% of the total cost. In addition，more than half of the orchards in China are located in hilly and mountainous areas，where fruit tree planting is relatively scattered，and the plot area is small. Orchard production management is mainly manual operation，with high work intensity and low production efficiency. Agricultural mechanization and agricultural machinery and equipment are the important foundation for changing the mode of agricultural development and improving rural productivity，and the important support for the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy. Without agricultural mechanization，there will be no agricultural and rural modernization[1]. So，the advanced and applicable orchard machinery is an important guarantee to save resource consumption，reduce labor intensity and labor cost，improve production efficiency，economic benefits and fruit quality. Orchard machinery is related to the development of the whole fruit industry and is increasingly favored by fruit farmers.

2.3 Orchard mechanization being an inevitable requirement for the development of agricultural machinery and equipment industryWith the improvement of China’s agricultural machinery manufacturing level in recent years，China’s agricultural production has shifted from relying mainly on human and animal power to relying mainly on mechanical power，and entered the mechanization led pro stage[1]. However，due to the diverse demand for agricultural machinery products，the complex working environment of machines and tools and other factors，the current unbalanced and insufficient development of agricultural mechanization and agricultural machinery and equipment industry is more prominent，especially the weak scientific and technological innovation ability of agricultural machinery，the insufficient effective supply of some agricultural machinery and equipment，the insufficient combination of agricultural machinery and agronomy，and the lagging construction of agricultural machinery operation infrastructure need to be solved urgently[1]. For the fruit industry in China at this stage，the mechanization level is lower，and it can not meet the large-scale development of orchards and the needs of production diversification，management refinement and production efficiency，which has become the bottleneck restricting the sustainable and high-quality development of the fruit industry. Compared with rice，wheat，corn and other field crops that have basically achieved full mechanization，the gap of orchard mechanization is particularly prominent.

3 Thoughts and recommendations on mechanization of orchards in North China

3.1 Agricultural machinery demand

3.1.1Branch crusher. For fruit tree production，it should be pruned every year to control tree vigor，balance nutritional growth and reproductive growth，and improve fruit yield and quality. The pruning amount of apple，pear，peach，apricot and other tree species in orchards of North China is very large every year，and pruning amount of some tree species even reaches a quarter to a third of the growth of that year. The pruned branches cannot be simply burned and returned to the field under the requirements of ecological civilization construction and environmental protection. Therefore，the demand for suitable and usable branch crushers is increasingly urgent. First is traction type. It can be directly crushed and returned to the field like field crop straw，thereby improving soil structure and soil fertility，and increasing soil organic matter，and it is conducive to the growth and development of fruit trees. Second，combined with reuse ways such as making edible mushroom sticks，incineration and power generation in thermal power plants，retting compost，etc.，it can turn waste into treasure after crushing，and promote the resource utilization of agricultural waste.

There are many branch crushers on the market，but few are suitable for use. The main problems are: first，the steel mouth of the grinding tool is not blunt enough and easy to wear; second，the equipment technology is rough，and the screws are easy to loosen and fall off after use. These problems reduce the service life of agricultural machinery，increase the cost of maintenance，affect the efficiency of operation，and cost money and trouble. In addition，it’s the after-sales problem，and there are many problems with machines and tools. The after-sales service is not perfect，and parts (there is no unified standard，and there are no more parts if the manufacturer has problems) are missing.

3.1.2Tillage machinery. With the popularity of the concept of ecosystem and organic fruits in the fruit industry，and the implementation of the mode of orchard grass cultivation and branch crushing and returning to the field，there is an urgent need for energy-saving and efficient subsoiling and land preparation machinery. Meanwhile，the demand for engineering technology and equipment for the reuse of soil stripped from the cultivated layer of cultivated land occupied by construction is also increasing. For example，when the original chicken houses and pig houses for breeding are replanted or transformed into orchards，it is necessary to pick up and remove the residual construction waste，and then carry out deep cultivation and replanting. There is a shortage of machinery for picking up residual construction waste.

3.2 Short board of mechanizationThere are many agricultural machinery enterprises，with small scale. Products lack unified standards，and there is a wide variety of agricultural machinery parts. Various products can not be used universally，and maintenance is difficult. The after-sales system is not perfect. There are few agricultural machinery practitioners，machine operators and maintenance personnel.

3.3 Recommendations on mechanizationThe combination of machinery and agriculture is the joint of agricultural machinery research，development，and production departments and fruit production departments，so that agricultural machinery and tools can be directly oriented to fruit production and production demand，and practical and useful agricultural machinery and tools can be used to improve the mechanization level of the fruit industry. This combination can bridge the gap between production demand and agricultural machinery and equipment，and the information is un-obstructed，which is conducive to the popularization of new agricultural machinery and accelerating the progress of orchard mechanization. For standardization of agricultural machinery，it should produce high-level，high-precision and high-quality technical equipment and parts[2]，and improve product quality and reliability. Subsidy mechanism should be improved，making practitioners and enterprises earn money with dignity. The training of talent teams (students from colleges and technical secondary schools，new farmers who are literate and know how to operate[2]) should be enhanced，and the support of professional service enterprises (cooperatives，etc.) should be increased. All fruit production units need professional agricultural machinery services. With the aging population，rural areas also need enterprises that provide agricultural machinery services. At present，such enterprises have a large gap and few employees (R & D personnel，production personnel，operators). It should improve after sales service of agricultural machinery maintenance and other aspects. After the standards of agricultural machinery and tools are unified，it is no longer a factory with one specification. If the factories are unified，4S stores and maintenance stores like the automotive industry can be established. Fruit tree production is different from grain and oil crops. It is perennial，with large plant row spacing，large crown，deep root，and woody branches. Old orchards are required to be upgraded，with strong road trafficability. The edge of a field is not less than 4 m，so that agricultural machinery can be turned around and meet the requirements of mechanization. Cultivation mode is also standardized and suitable for mechanization，including plant row spacing，tree shape and other agronomy. For newly-built orchards，mechanization should be fully taken into account in the planning and design at the beginning of the establishment.

4 Conclusions

The fundamental way out for agriculture lies in mechanization. With the improvement of mechanization level，the mechanization level of orchards in North China will certainly improve. There is great potential for the fruit industry and orchard mechanization. It should vigorously promote agricultural mechanization and intellectualization，thereby helping agricultural modernization with science and technology[3].