In Hebei, mud removal clears way for planting

Residents of Dongchengfang town in Zhuozhou, Hebei province, have felt reassured as local governments are organizing working teams to help them remove thick mud brought by floods earlier this month. Quick removal will make it possible that they can plant winter wheat as planned in October.

Fields near the town are among many in the city that were flooded.

"We need to drain the fields first and then dredge them before plowing, so that we can prepare to plant winter wheat," the town's head Guo Xiaobo was quoted as saying by Hebei Daily.

In the town's Xishagou village, mud in some fields was as thick as 50 centimeters, according to the village's Party chief, Xue Zhicun.

The village has coordinated six dredgers to remove the mud since Aug 23. The preparation work for growing wheat will be finished before mid-September, Xue said.

"The mud in my fields will be cleared out soon. It seemed that my plan of planting wheat around Oct 8 will not be delayed," Xue Wenliang, a 61-year-old farmer in the village, was quoted as saying.

Beyond the mud-removal work, the local government has handed out 30 metric tons of fertilizer donated by enterprises to farmers living in the town, Guo said.

Moreover, the town has also invited experts from China Agricultural University to the farms for soil testing, in order to get professional advice.