Pure Brightness Farming

Around Qingming, frozen ground across Northeast China has largely thawed through. The upper soil layer has thawed to a depth of 30–50 centimeters, and spring sowing enters its final countdown. Daytime highs may reach 10–15°C, the surface soil has fully thawed, the muddy-field period comes to an end, and large agricultural machinery can begin entering the fields.
Countdown to spring sowing. Spring planting in Northeast China generally begins from mid- to late April—around April 15–20 in Heilongjiang, April 5–10 in Liaoning, and April 10–15 in Jilin. At Qingming, only one to two weeks remain before sowing, so all preparations must be completed during this period.
Seed coating is fully completed and treated seed is bagged for use. Fertilizer is sorted and positioned according to field and crop type, while large agricultural machinery completes its final calibration and test runs. Planting plans must also be finalized at this stage—including the relative acreages devoted to maize, soybeans, and rice, as well as the choice and spatial arrangement of different varieties.
Monitoring soil moisture. Qingming is a period when Northeast farmers watch 墒情 (*soil-moisture conditions*) particularly closely. Spring drought is one of the greatest threats to spring sowing in the region. Farmers dig into the soil to assess moisture. If relative soil moisture falls below 60%, they may need to create adequate moisture conditions before sowing.
Weather forecasts are combined with field observations to determine the best sowing time. In dry years, irrigation sources—such as wells and reservoirs—must be arranged in advance, or sowing depth adjusted slightly deeper so seed reaches the moist soil layer.
Crop-residue management. If crop stalks were not removed from the fields before winter, Qingming is the final window for dealing with them. Residues must either be shredded and incorporated into the soil or baled and removed before sowing, otherwise planting quality and emergence may be affected.
Lambing ends fully in pastoral areas. By Qingming, lambing in the pastoral districts of eastern Inner Mongolia is fully complete and all newborn lambs have arrived. Herders shift their attention from assisting births toward grazing management. As pasture grasses begin to return to green, livestock gradually move from pens back onto pasture.
Protected agriculture. Peak greenhouse-vegetable production continues in southern Liaoning. Rising temperatures make greenhouse overheating increasingly likely, so daytime ventilation and cooling must be strengthened. Open-field vegetables such as spinach, Chinese chives, and lettuce begin sowing or transplantation around Qingming.

Around Qingming, spring-wheat sowing in Northwest China approaches completion, while winter wheat in southern Xinjiang enters booting and reaches its annual maximum demand for water and nutrients.
Spring-wheat sowing concludes. Across the Hexi Corridor in Gansu and Yellow River irrigation districts of Ningxia, spring-wheat sowing approaches its end around Qingming. The 顶凌播种 (*sowing while deeper soil remains frozen*) window closes, and any fields not yet planted must be completed quickly; otherwise, the crop’s developmental period and yield may be affected.
The sown area reaches its annual maximum around Qingming, and planting quality directly influences annual grain production across Northwest China.
Management of winter wheat at booting. Winter wheat in the Tarim Basin of southern Xinjiang enters the 孕穗期 (*booting stage*) around Qingming. Young ears differentiate and develop rapidly inside the stems, making this a decisive stage for determining the number of kernels per ear.
Booting is also the peak period of water and nutrient demand. Farmers need to irrigate promptly at 50–60 cubic meters per *mu* and apply 孕穗肥 (*booting fertilizer*) consisting of 8–10 kilograms of urea plus 3–5 kilograms of potash fertilizer per *mu*.
Wheat is particularly sensitive to water stress during booting. Drought can impair young-ear development and reduce kernel number, so farmers must ensure that every wheat field receives irrigation in time.
Spring irrigation expands fully. In Gansu, Ningxia, and western Inner Mongolia, spring wheat needs prompt irrigation after sowing through “蒙头水”—*the first irrigation after sowing to support germination and emergence*. Qingming is a period of concentrated spring irrigation, requiring farmers to coordinate irrigation order and make full use of Yellow River water resources.
The spring grazing season begins. After lambing ends along the northern Tianshan and in the Ili Valley, herders gradually move livestock onto spring pasture. Grasses begin to return to green and animals shift from pen feeding toward grazing.
Spring grazing must be carefully controlled. Grazing intensity should remain moderate so livestock do not overgraze tender new grass and hinder pasture recovery. Grazing time should be increased gradually so animals can adapt to fresh forage.
Orchard management. Apples, fragrant pears, grapes, and other fruit trees in southern Xinjiang enter the period from budbreak to leaf expansion around Qingming. Growers need to focus on several tasks:
Spring pruning—complete all pruning before budbreak.
Fertilization—apply 萌芽肥 (*budbreak fertilizer*), mainly nitrogen, before buds open.
Pest and disease control—apply lime-sulfur before budbreak, then monitor aphids, spider mites, and other pests after emergence.
Specialty crops. Cotton sowing in Xinjiang begins around Qingming. Cotton-growing areas in both southern and northern Xinjiang start planting successively as temperatures rise. Cotton is Xinjiang’s most important cash crop, and both planting acreage and sowing quality directly affect farmers’ annual income.

Around Qingming, North China enters the most critical period of winter-wheat management as the crop moves from jointing toward booting, while spring-maize sowing formally begins.
Management from jointing to booting. Winter wheat across the North China Plain moves from peak jointing toward 孕穗期 (*booting*). Stem internode elongation is largely complete and the young ear develops rapidly inside the stem, approaching full formation.
Booting is the final stage determining kernel number per ear and brings an urgent demand for both water and nutrients.
Key management points include:
Fields with inadequate soil moisture—relative soil moisture below 60%—need prompt irrigation at 40–50 cubic meters per *mu*.
Weak stands require 孕穗肥 at 5–8 kilograms of urea per *mu*.
Overly vigorous fields require reduced nitrogen application in order to prevent excessive vegetative growth and lodging.
Booting is also the final period of serious threat from 倒春寒 (*late spring cold*). Farmers must watch weather forecasts closely. If nighttime temperatures are forecast to fall below 2°C, irrigation may be used to help retain warmth.
Spring-maize sowing formally begins. Across the North China Plain, spring maize enters its sowing period around Qingming. Planting generally takes place from early to mid-April, making Qingming one of the best windows, once soil temperature remains steadily above 10°C and soil moisture is suitable.
Seed is planted 3–5 centimeters deep with row spacing of 60–70 centimeters, followed by rolling to conserve soil moisture. Spring-maize acreage rises rapidly around Qingming as farmers take advantage of clear weather to sow in concentrated fashion.
Pest and disease control. As temperatures rise, wheat pests and diseases enter a high-incidence period.
Key targets include:
Wheat sharp eyespot—brown lesions appear at the stem base; validamycin or triadimefon is used for control.
Wheat spider mites—abamectin is used for treatment.
Aphids—imidacloprid is used.
Wheat powdery mildew—triadimefon is used.
Farmers should inspect their fields at least once every week and intervene promptly when pests or diseases are detected.
Spring irrigation continues. Spring irrigation continues around Qingming but is approaching its end. Wheat fields that have not yet been irrigated need to complete the work quickly in order to secure water supply during booting.
Fruit-set management in orchards. In apple-, pear-, and peach-growing areas of North China, flowering is largely over and orchards enter fruit set.
Growers need to focus on:
Fruit thinning—removing overly dense, malformed, or pest-damaged young fruit so the fruit left behind can reach proper size and quality. Apple clusters retain 1–2 fruits, while pear clusters retain 1–3 fruits.
Fruit-setting fertilizer—mainly potash, to support young-fruit development.
Pest and disease control—apple ring rot, pear scab, peach aphid, and other problems enter important control windows.
Vegetable sowing and transplantation. Open-field vegetable planting reaches its peak in North China. Spring radish, spring Chinese cabbage, spring cabbage, and other major vegetables begin sowing or transplantation. Greenhouse tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers enter peak harvest and require stronger water, nutrient, pest, and disease management.

Around Qingming, the middle and lower Yangtze enters the busiest stage of agricultural activity in the entire year. Peak early-rice transplantation, rapeseed pod setting, and full-scale spring-tea harvesting overlap as three central agricultural tasks.
Peak early-rice transplantation. In southern Jiangnan—including Jiangxi, southern Hunan, and southern Zhejiang—early-rice seedlings reach the “四叶一心” to “五叶一心” stages—*four to five developed leaves with one central emerging leaf*—around Qingming and enter the peak of large-scale transplantation.
After transplantation, farmers maintain a shallow water layer of 3–5 centimeters to encourage 返青 (*post-transplant recovery*) and low-position tillering.
In northern Jiangnan—including Anhui, southern Jiangsu, and northern Zhejiang—early-rice nurseries enter their final pre-transplant push around Qingming. Farmers carry out 炼苗 (*seedling hardening*) by gradually removing covers, increasing ventilation, and reducing watering so seedlings adapt to open-field conditions. At the same time, paddies are prepared through flooding, soaking, harrowing, leveling, and basal fertilization.
Transplantation is generally completed between Qingming and 谷雨 (Gǔyǔ, Grain Rain).
Management during peak rapeseed pod setting. Rapeseed across the Yangtze River basin enters peak pod formation around Qingming. Young pods expand rapidly and the seeds inside begin to develop and fill.
Pod setting is the most decisive stage for rapeseed yield, because both pod number and seed plumpness directly determine the final harvest.
Key management measures include:
Applying 荚肥 (*pod fertilizer*), primarily potash, at 3–5 kilograms of potassium chloride per *mu* to support fuller seed development.
Controlling sclerotinia stem rot, the most important disease affecting rapeseed. Qingming is a peak period for the disease. Carbendazim or sclerotinia-control products are applied once during full flowering and again at early pod formation.
Preventing lodging. Above-ground biomass increases sharply during pod setting, making rapeseed vulnerable to strong winds and heavy rain. Earlier control of excessive growth and appropriate planting density can reduce the risk.
Spring-tea harvesting expands fully. In the tea regions of Jiangnan—Zhejiang, Anhui, and Jiangxi—the first major spring-tea harvest peak arrives around Qingming, and harvesting of 明前茶 expands fully.
明前茶 is regarded as the highest-quality spring tea: the buds and leaves are tender, the aroma is delicate and clear, and bitterness and astringency are light. Picking standards are strict—generally one bud with one leaf or one bud with two leaves. Fresh leaves must be processed immediately after picking through 杀青 (*fixing*), rolling, and drying in order to preserve quality.
Tea growers enter the busiest picking season of the year around Qingming, with harvesting, processing, and sales following one another without interruption.
Keeping drainage ditches open to prevent waterlogging. Spring rainfall continues increasing around Qingming and field humidity remains high. Farmers need to keep inspecting drainage systems and ensure that the “三沟”—main, central, and perimeter ditches—remain unobstructed. Rice-stubble fields bear the greatest drainage pressure and require particular attention to prevent waterlogging damage.
Greenhouse and open-field vegetables. Greenhouse fruiting vegetables across the Yangtze basin enter peak harvest, with tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers continuing to reach the market. Open-field vegetables—including stem lettuce, celery, garlic, and spring cabbage—enter rapid growth and require stronger water, nutrient, pest, and disease management.

Around Qingming, agricultural activity expands fully across Southwest China. Early-rice transplantation in warm lowland valleys approaches completion; winter wheat in the Sichuan Basin enters booting; stripe-rust control reaches its final decisive battle; and spring-tea harvesting reaches its seasonal peak.
Early-rice transplantation concludes. In southern Yunnan—including Xishuangbanna and Honghe—and the Panxi region of Sichuan, early-rice transplantation approaches completion around Qingming. A shallow water layer of 3–5 centimeters is maintained after transplantation to support recovery and tillering. The warm lowland valleys of Yunnan have abundant heat resources, allowing transplanted rice to grow rapidly, and some fields already enter peak tillering.
Final battle against wheat stripe rust. Winter wheat across the Sichuan Basin is at booting around Qingming, while stripe-rust control enters its final decisive stage.
Stripe-rust spores spread rapidly and can cause severe damage. Qingming is the last major control window. If the disease is not effectively contained at this point, spores may be carried in large quantities by southwesterly air currents toward northern wheat-growing regions, causing widespread outbreaks.
Agricultural authorities in Sichuan launch comprehensive control operations around Qingming. Plant-protection personnel enter each wheat field to inspect and spray. Farmers must inspect their own fields at least twice a week. When yellow stripe-like spore pustules are found, they should be reported and treated immediately.
The decisive control period generally runs from Qingming to Grain Rain, lasting around 2–3 weeks.
Peak spring-tea harvesting. Low-altitude tea areas in Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan enter peak spring-tea harvest around Qingming, with 明前茶 picking expanding fully.
Famous tea regions—including Mount Emei and Mengding Mountain in Sichuan, Duyun in Guizhou, and Pu’er in Yunnan—enter the busiest tea-picking season of the year. Spring budding begins later at high elevations, generally in mid- to late April, making Qingming an important period for tea-garden management and preparation of labor and materials there.
Potato seedling management. Spring potatoes in major production regions of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan enter a crucial seedling-management stage around Qingming.
Farmers inspect stands and fill gaps by resowing or transplanting where necessary; carry out a second intertillage at 5–8 centimeters deep together with weeding and topdressing; and apply 苗肥 (*seedling fertilizer*) at 5–8 kilograms of urea per *mu* to promote stem and leaf growth and tuber formation.
Seedling growth directly influences tuber number and final yield.
Rapeseed and broad beans. Rapeseed in Sichuan and Guizhou enters peak pod setting and requires pod fertilizer together with control of sclerotinia. Broad beans move from peak pod formation toward maturity and require adequate water.

#### (1) Mainland South China
Management of early rice at peak tillering. Early rice across South China enters peak tillering around Qingming. Transplanted seedlings have fully recovered and begin producing large numbers of tillers.
Tillering is the key stage determining the number of productive panicles: the more effective tillers the crop produces, the higher the final yield potential.
Key management measures include:
Maintaining a shallow water layer of 3–5 centimeters without allowing the field to dry.
Applying 分蘖肥 (*tillering fertilizer*) at the beginning of tillering, generally 5–8 kilograms of urea per *mu*.
Carrying out 晒田控苗 (*draining and drying the paddy to regulate crop growth*) once tiller numbers reach the planned target. Fields are drained and allowed to dry for 7–10 days, suppressing unproductive tillers and encouraging deeper root growth.
Paddy drying is an important rice-management technique. Drying too early may reduce productive tillering; drying too late allows excessive unproductive tillers to consume nutrients.
Growth management of spring peanuts and spring maize. Spring peanuts enter vigorous growth around Qingming. Stems and leaves grow rapidly, and the crop begins flowering and 下针—the stage when the fertilized peg extends down into the soil to form a pod.
Key measures include a second intertillage at 8–10 centimeters deep, application of 花针肥 (*flowering-and-pegging fertilizer*) at 10–15 kilograms of compound fertilizer per *mu*, and control of peanut leaf spot, aphids, and other pests and diseases.
Spring maize enters jointing around Qingming. Stems elongate rapidly, making stronger water and nutrient management necessary. Farmers apply 拔节肥 at 8–10 kilograms of urea per *mu*.
Fruit retention and summer-shoot management in tropical orchards. Mangoes in Hainan and Guangxi enter young-fruit development and require attention to 保果 (*fruit retention*). Growers apply fruit-retention treatments, thin overly dense young fruit, and control mango gall midges and thrips.
Early lychee varieties enter fruit development and need stronger water and nutrient supply, while mid- and late-season varieties enter flowering and require careful attention to pollination conditions.
Citrus in Guangdong and Guangxi enters spring-shoot emergence and flowering. Nitrogen application must be controlled to prevent excessive spring-shoot growth from interfering with flowering and fruit set.
Vegetables and aquaculture. Open-field vegetables in South China enter rapid growth and peak harvest. Choy sum, Chinese kale, lettuce, and spinach grow quickly and need timely harvesting.
As temperatures rise, pests and diseases enter a high-incidence period. Diamondback moth, aphids, downy mildew, and powdery mildew require stronger control.
In aquaculture, fish enter rapid growth. Feed amounts are gradually increased, while water-quality management and disease prevention are strengthened.
#### (2) Taiwan
Rice: The first rice crop in central Taiwan—including Changhua, Yunlin, and the Chianan Plain—enters 孕穗期 (*booting*) around Qingming. Young panicles differentiate and develop rapidly within the stem, making this a decisive stage for determining grain number.
Fields should maintain a shallow water layer of 3–5 centimeters, while 穗肥 (*panicle fertilizer*), primarily potash, is applied at 5–8 kilograms of potassium chloride per *mu*.
In southern Taiwan, particularly the Kaohsiung–Pingtung region, rice moves from late booting into heading and requires attention to panicle-stage diseases and pests, including rice blast, sheath blight, and stem borers.
In northern Taiwan, including Taoyuan and Hsinchu, rice seedlings begin transplantation around Qingming.
Vegetables: Vegetable sowing and transplantation continue across Taiwan. In central Taiwan, watermelon, cucumber, muskmelon, and other cucurbits enter peak sowing and seedling raising. In the south, ginger and 越瓜 reach peak transplantation. Tomatoes enter the final stage of harvest and require continued pest and disease control.
Fruit trees: Spring pruning of citrus is fully complete, while management of spring-shoot emergence and flowering expands fully. Mangoes in southern Taiwan enter flowering and young-fruit development and require attention to flower and fruit retention. Lychees move from flowering toward young-fruit development, with pollination and fruit set becoming important. Bananas in southern Taiwan enter flower-bud differentiation and require stronger water and nutrient management.
Tea: Spring tea in central and southern tea regions—including Nantou and Chiayi—enters peak harvest around Qingming. This is the most important production season in Taiwan’s tea industry, and spring-tea quality directly affects annual tea income. Growers intensify harvesting, processing, and sales. In northern tea regions such as Wenshan and Sanxia, spring-tea picking begins around Qingming.
Fisheries: Catches in waters around Taiwan continue increasing during Qingming. The spring fishing season enters its busy phase, with mackerel, Spanish mackerel, pomfret, mullet, and other species continuing to be caught. Coastal fishing vessels go to sea frequently and catch quality remains good.
Farmer’s proverbs and folk customs: Taiwanese tradition preserves the saying:
“清明前，好種田。”
*Before Qingming is a good time to work and plant the fields.*
And:
“清明後，好種豆。”
*After Qingming is a good time to sow beans.*
Qingming is also one of Taiwan’s most important traditional festivals. Grave sweeping and ancestor worship, together with spring outings, are among its principal customs.
The folk expression “清明掃墓，慎終追遠” conveys the tradition of sweeping ancestral graves at Qingming and remembering one’s forebears with reverence and gratitude.