Triple-Cropping System Breaks Barriers, Paints a Picture of Bounty in Eastern Inner Mongolia's Dryland Farms

In early summer, a million acres of fertile land in Horqin Right Middle Banner, Hinggan League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, are brimming with life. Within this expanse, a 5,000-acre demonstration field for a "wheat, corn, soybean" strip intercropping system designed for fertilizer reduction and efficiency enhancement presents a striking scene. Lush green wheat grows robustly, corn stalks stand tall, and the crops are arranged in neat, alternating strips of varying heights, "painting" a layered picture of a bountiful harvest.

As a key agricultural innovation pilot for the banner this year, this demonstration field leverages scientific farming techniques to address the pain points of northern drylands: a single annual crop cycle, low resource utilization, and weak planting efficiency. It achieves "three harvests from one field in a single season," exploring a new path for improving quality, increasing efficiency, ensuring stable grain output, and boosting income in Inner Mongolia's dryland agriculture.

Stepping into the demonstration field, the standardized planting layout is immediately clear. The field strictly employs a scientific "12 rows of wheat + 2 rows of corn" strip ratio. All row spacing, plant spacing, and strip distances have been precisely calculated by agricultural technicians to accommodate the entire process of mechanized sowing, management, and harvesting, achieving deep integration of agricultural machinery and agronomy.

"Tall and short crops grow in alternating strips, absorbing sunlight and nutrients at different levels. This effectively avoids growth conflicts during the cohabitation period of the crops and fully taps the potential for three-dimensional land use," explained Wang Guangyue, Chairman of Inner Mongolia Zhongyang Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. "Currently, the wheat and corn are growing evenly and promisingly, with robust plants and no pests or diseases. The field's growth far exceeds that of traditional monoculture fields."

Precise timing is the core of the "three harvests from one field" model, ensuring the land is never idle and solar/thermal resources are not wasted. The model strictly follows a scientific planting sequence: "wheat first, then corn; after wheat harvest, plant soybeans." Wheat is sown preferentially in early spring, followed by corn planted between the wheat rows, ensuring the two crops grow together in staggered periods. After the wheat is fully harvested in late June, soybeans can be sown immediately in the same field, seamlessly connecting the three crop growth cycles. This allows one field to yield wheat, corn, and soybeans in a single year, truly achieving "three harvests from one field, multiple yields in one season" and maximizing the use of land and solar/thermal resources.

Liu Xiaosheng, Deputy Director of the Horqin Right Middle Banner Bureau of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, and Science & Technology, stated that green efficiency enhancement and soil improvement for increased income are the standout advantages of this model. "The demonstration field integrates multiple core technologies such as precise water and fertilizer management, selection of superior seeds, and ecological crop rotation. It selects high-yield, disease-resistant, and highly compatible premium varieties to build a solid foundation for a good harvest from the start. Simultaneously, by leveraging the nitrogen-fixing properties of soybean roots and combining it with straw returning techniques, it naturally supplements soil fertility and improves soil structure, significantly reducing chemical fertilizer application. This achieves an organic combination of land use and land cultivation, supporting green and sustainable agricultural development."

This efficient planting model delivers tangible economic benefits. Li Yongmei, the person in charge of the demonstration field, calculated the income increase: Through optimized strip intercropping and dense planting, corn seedling retention and per-mu yield have steadily increased. Combined with the wheat and soybean harvests and planting subsidies, the gross income per mu of land can reach 3,300 yuan, with a net profit exceeding 1,000 yuan—a substantial improvement compared to traditional single-crop planting models.

"The current 5,000-acre demonstration field shows stable crop growth with excellent development trends. All technical indicators are operating smoothly, and the pilot's effectiveness is beginning to show," Liu Xiaosheng stated. He indicated that this integrated model of "wheat-corn-soybean" strip intercropping, fertilizer reduction and efficiency enhancement, and triple-cropping is highly compatible with the local cultivated land and climatic conditions of Horqin Right Middle Banner. It effectively addresses the shortcomings of insufficient productivity and low efficiency in dryland agriculture.

Liu Xiaosheng added that once this year's demonstration field trial succeeds and the technical model is fully mature, Horqin Right Middle Banner will systematically summarize the planting experience and unify technical standards. It will then promote this innovative planting model across the entire banner through methods like technical seminars, field instruction, guidance on agricultural machinery adaptation, and free technical training. Concurrently, the local area will rely on methods like land trusteeship and agricultural socialized services to lower the entry barrier for farmers, enabling advanced farming techniques to reach thousands of households.