People check out agricultural machinery helping with work at a vineyard in Zhangjiagang, Suzhou, Jiangsu province. [Photo/zjgonline.com.cn]
Zhangjiagang, a county-level city in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, has been cooperating with research institutes and companies to introduce and promote new fruit growing equipment in recent years.
The city's agricultural technology promotion center recently showcased several intelligent machines at a local vineyard that can help apply fertilizer, weed, prune trees and pick fruits. Zhao Zhanchun, deputy head of the center, said a new type of spraying machine can handle 6.67 hectares of land per day, four times the capacity of a conventional one.
Pilot plantations that use agricultural machines have seen increasing profits and lower labor costs.
Zhangjiagang is presently home to about 1,133.33 hectares of orchards, which mainly produce pears, peaches and grapes and can generate 200 million yuan ($27.62 million) in annual output.