In the golden September, the rice paddies turn yellow, marking another year of autumn harvest. As the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday approach, the early rice cultivated in Chongming has ripened successively. In recent days, farmers have seized the opportunity and intensified their harvesting efforts, welcoming the arrival of the "Double Festival" with joy of a bountiful harvest.

On the morning of September 18, the 100 mu (6.67 hectares) “National Day Rice” planted by Shanghai Juxia Grain Planting Cooperative in Xincun Township began to be harvested. In the golden rice fields, the heavy rice ears weigh down the rice stalks, while two harvesters shuttle back and forth at full power to ensure that every grain of rice finds its way to the warehouse. Sun Zhaohai, a technician from the cooperative, said that after the rice is harvested, it will be transported to the cooperative for low-temperature drying and rice processing. Two days later, the new rice will hit the market, allowing the public to savor the long-awaited fresh rice before the "Double Festival".

In the adjacent rice fields, Jiang Hui, a cultivation specialist from the Xincun Township Agricultural Technology Center, carefully took samples and recorded key data such as effective panicle number, total grain number, and filled grain number to determine the yield per mu of the "National Day Rice". "Overall, the yield here looks good."

"We expect the yield this year to be around 900 jin (450 kg) per mu, which is about a 20% increase compared to previous years," Fu Yunlong, the person in charge of the cooperative, said that the cooperative adopts smart planting and refined management with better land, quality seeds, and proper methods. This year, thanks to ample sunlight and suitable temperatures, as well as key technologies such as water and fertilizer management, balanced fertilization, and green control of diseases and pests during the rice growth process, both the yield and quality of the "National Day Rice" is satisfactory.

In addition, hundreds of mu of "National Day Rice" have also been harvested at Chongming Rice Industry Group's Bainong Base in Chenjia Town and the Beihu Organic Agriculture Demonstration Base in Xinhe Town. According to the district's agricultural department, this year Chongming has a total rice planting area of approximately 267,000 mu (17,800 hectares), with about 2,000 mu (133 hectares) dedicated to “National Day Rice”, mainly consisting of high-quality early-maturing varieties such as "Hu Zao Xiang Ruan No. 1", "Hu Zao Jing No. 193", and "Song Zao Xiang No. 1". Overall, the growth of the "National Day Rice" is better than last year, and there has been a significant increase in yield compared to the same period. The autumn harvest is expected to continue until early November, and regular rice is estimated to be available on the market in the middle to late November.