# Wheat Can Grow at the Desert's Edge (New Productive Forces in Spring Plowing)

(Original Title: Using a 380-meter-long Pointer Sprinkler—Growing Wheat on the Edge of the Desert (A New Quality of Productivity in Spring Farming))

As spring arrives, winter wheat begins to turn green and grow taller. In Kumul City, Xinjiang, on the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert, over 8,200 acres of wheat fields maintain a greening and seedling survival rate of over 90%. You won’t see farmers here; instead, large machines work leisurely in circular wheat fields.

These “large machines” are pointer sprinklers, over 380 meters long. The reporter observed closely near the support base and saw spray heads hanging from water pipes above, like sprinklers, washing the wheat seedlings to a lush green.

“Watering and fertilizing are done with pointer sprinklers, field patrols are done with drones, so there’s less manual work, yet the crops grow better,” said Li Daoqing, the manager of the planting base who came from the office nearby. The base is divided into 12 circular plots, with sprinkler supports placed at the center of each. Once the parameters are set and fertilizer added, a single button starts the machine, requiring minimal human intervention. The automation is high, saving time and effort, and making it efficient and convenient.

From a high altitude, the circular wheat fields resemble the face of a clock, with the long sprinklers acting like hands, slowly moving in a uniform circular motion around the support base.

How slow? “We’ve set the fastest speed now, and it takes about 9 and a half hours to complete one circle,” Li said.

How is the speed decided? “The seedlings have been ‘napping’ all winter and are finally greening up. They need frequent watering, timely fertilization to ‘fill them up,’ making them sturdier and stronger to grow upward. When they grow taller, the fertilization frequency and speed are reduced, and it takes about 36 hours to complete one circle.”

Although Li Daoqing speaks confidently, he has only been working with this new equipment for half a year. In 2024, the area of this planting base still consists of rolling sand dunes. Kumul City combines increasing grain production with sand control, leveling the dunes into arable land managed by Xinjiang Kumul Agricultural Investment Co., Ltd. To solve the water shortage in desert cultivation, a water reservoir was built, and pipelines were laid to bring water to the fields.

Initially, drip irrigation was used, but when the wind and sand came, many seedlings were “knocked out,” and the survivors grew very short with low yields, said Cui Gangchuang, the head of the planting base. In newly opened desert land, protecting seedlings is the first step to ensuring yield.

Cui traveled to Hotan, on the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert, and found that compared to drip irrigation, sprinkler systems better protect seedlings in arid, windy areas. Traditional traveling sprinklers often need to change power outlets along the line, requiring at least one person to monitor constantly. “With the pointer sprinkler, what used to require 30 people can now be done by 4.”

From a distance in the field, the sand dunes seem poised to surge with the wind. Only by resisting the wind and sand can the seedlings be preserved.

“The pointer sprinkler keeps rotating, spraying water to keep the land moist. When wind and sand come, the sand particles encounter the wet soil at the edge of the wheat field and settle quickly. Although a small part of seedlings at the edge are sacrificed, the majority inside are protected,” Cui explained. In the early stages of new land, sprinklers are used to suppress sand and protect seedlings. Later, with the planting and growth of protective forests, the wind and sand will be further blocked.

The water sprayed from the sprinklers also has a useful purpose. On the desert edge, blowing sand often covers plants with dust, but continuous watering acts like a shower, washing away the dust. This helps wheat seedlings better absorb sunlight and carry out photosynthesis.

In the desert, hot dry winds frequently cause water imbalance in wheat, affecting grain filling. The mist generated during sprinkler watering can increase the humidity in the field to some extent, improving the microclimate.

As the pointer circles again and again, the lush wheat fields along the vast yellow sands are growing vigorously.