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Experts assess wheat yield. [Photo/Tide News]

The Dedao Family Farm in Pinghu, Jiaxing, East China's Zhejiang province, reached a historic milestone on May 28 — 700 kilograms of wheat per mu (0.07 hectare). 

The highest single plot yield hit 700.94 kg per mu, while the 100-mu demonstration zone averaged an impressive 646.98 kg, setting two new provincial records.

Since late May, as winter wheat harvesting began across the province, the Zhejiang agriculture committee has received various yield verification requests from farmers eager to compete. Experts have been dispatched to the fields in Hangzhou, Jiaxing, Wenzhou, and Huzhou to verify claims and record results.

As the second most important grain crop after rice in Zhejiang, wheat plays a critical role in the Zhejiang's food security. This year, 2.55 million mu of wheat have been planted in Zhejiang, with further expansion expected. 

Although the province's wheat-growing area remains less than 1 percent of the national total and its top yield still lags behind the national record of over 900 kg per mu, rapid progress is being made. Mechanization rates have jumped from 82.58 percent in 2020 to about 95 percent, alongside improvements in soil quality and adoption of advanced seeds and methods.

Zhang Liangjie, owner of Dedao Family Farm, who has grown wheat for 13 years, has attributed the breakthrough to mechanization and the introduction of a new high-yield variety.