An Overview of the Development of Garden Machinery in China

The development of garden greening machinery and equipment has a history of nearly a hundred years. In the early 20th century, developed Western countries had already begun to apply machinery in the heavy work of landscaping. At that time, mainly lifting and transportation machinery and agricultural machinery were used, such as transporting and loading/unloading materials with cars and cranes, and land preparation before planting with tractors and plows. After the 1950s, various types of garden greening machinery began to emerge one after another, such as tree planting machines, lawn mowers, and garden tractors, and garden greening machinery started to enter a period of rapid development. After the 1980s, in developed countries in Europe and America, with the further development of the economy and the further improvement of people's living standards and housing conditions, small-scale garden greening machinery and equipment began to enter households and became household appliances. Especially lawn machinery and equipment have been popularized in middle-class families in the United States, Canada and other countries. By the end of the 20th century, the construction and maintenance of public green Spaces and courtyard green Spaces in most cities around the world had been fully mechanized.

The development of domestic landscaping machinery and equipment began in the late 1970s and entered a period of rapid growth in the 1990s. The main signs of this are: In addition to garden machinery factories and forestry machinery factories manufacturing garden greening machinery and equipment, a number of relatively strong general machinery factories and machine tool factories have also begun to produce different types of garden greening machinery. Some small-scale garden greening machinery has started to be exported abroad. The import of garden greening machinery and equipment of * has risen significantly. Some large companies from the UK, Germany, Sweden, Japan and other countries have entered the domestic market one after another with their landscaping machinery. A large number of companies dealing in domestic and foreign landscaping machinery and equipment have emerged, and their scale has been expanding day by day. They have initially formed a national distribution network. The proportion of mechanized operations in large-scale landscaping projects has significantly increased, and a number of mechanized construction teams have emerged. Garden greening machinery has begun to enter the courtyards of enterprises and institutions as well as residential communities. Overall, however, the variety of domestic landscaping machinery and equipment is still relatively limited. Their performance, quality and manufacturing level are still relatively backward, and there is a considerable gap compared with developed countries abroad. The proportion of domestic landscaping mechanized operations is still very small, and the gap is quite obvious compared with the overall mechanization level of developed countries. Overall, China is still in the primary stage of the development of garden and greening machinery and equipment at present.

Take lawn mowers as an example. Lawn machinery emerged along with the appearance of lawns and has developed along with their growth. At first, people mowed and maintained lawns by using some simple tools and livestock. It was not until 1830 that Idway Pudding of the UK invented the world's seven first internal combustion engine-powered forage harvesters, which were used for lawn mowing in 1832. Since then, all kinds of lawn planting and maintenance equipment have been continuously developing. After the 1950s, a large number of mechanical equipment for lawn operations came into being, and lawn machinery, as a part of garden machinery, began to enter a period of rapid development. After the 1970s, in some developed countries in Europe and America, with the improvement of living standards, small lawn maintenance machinery entered households and became essential household equipment. By the end of the 20th century, the construction and maintenance of public green Spaces and courtyard green Spaces in most cities around the world had basically achieved mechanized operations.

The main distribution of garden machinery manufacturers in China and related introductions:

The majority are coastal cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Northeast China, Zhejiang, Guangdong, etc. Among them, Guangdong is mainly engaged in trade, and the production volume of some factories in certain areas of Guangdong is also quite large. Zhejiang mainly focuses on assembly production, with numerous mold and accessory manufacturers. As a result, its accessories are relatively complete compared to the rest of the country. In contrast, manufacturers in Beijing and the north have a relatively longer history of manufacturing machinery, and thus have certain technological advantages. Their accumulated market is also more stable. The situation in Shanghai is similar to that in guangdong......

The state's policy on the development of agricultural mechanization in our country:

Looking at the development process, current situation and characteristics of agricultural mechanization in various countries, the levels vary and the features differ greatly, but the basic laws of agricultural mechanization development are the same. From this, we can catch a glimpse of what our country's agriculture should learn from them!

Many countries have without exception formulated protection and support policies in the process of achieving agricultural mechanization, and have made specific provisions on various policies and measures to promote the development of agricultural mechanization through legislation, including financial subsidies, preferential loans, tax reduction and exemption policies, etc. In terms of funds, taxes, water and electricity, and agricultural infrastructure construction, All of these create favorable conditions for the development of agricultural mechanization. The agricultural legislation in the United States is relatively complete. In the agricultural law, corresponding provisions have been made regarding aspects such as agricultural machinery education, research, promotion, and product quality appraisal related to the development of agricultural mechanization. Japan has also promoted the development of agricultural mechanization through legislation, formulating a series of regulations covering farmland improvement, seeds, agricultural machinery, fertilizers, pesticides, etc. Strong policy support and huge financial subsidies have become important guarantees for promoting agricultural mechanization in the country.

One of the key reasons why developed countries have been able to fully achieve agricultural mechanization and move towards agricultural modernization in a relatively short period of time is that they prioritize scientific research. All these countries have established rather complete agricultural machinery research and development systems. Not only do the countries have specialized agricultural machinery research institutions, but agricultural machinery enterprises also have their own specialized agricultural machinery research institutions. The research on agricultural machinery in France is mainly undertaken by the "National Center for Agricultural Machinery Experiment and Research" directly under *. Its tasks include the application, research, experimentation and appraisal of agricultural machinery, economic analysis of agricultural machinery modernization, collection, organization and distribution of agricultural machinery professional materials, training of agricultural machinery technicians, as well as the compilation and publication of agricultural machinery textbooks and periodicals. Japan has specially established an agricultural mechanization research institute to conduct research and development on risky basic experimental research and development and transformation projects carried out by private institutions. The agricultural machinery research institutions in these countries are not only numerous and have a large number of teams, but also have quite complete research equipment, creating very favorable conditions for the research and development of scientific researchers. In highly developed agricultural mechanization countries such as the United States, Germany, Japan and France, in addition to having a sound management and guidance system, they have also established a complete social service system. These service organizations represent the interests of farmers and agricultural machinery enterprises. They have played an extremely important role in promoting the development of agricultural mechanization, reflecting farmers' demands, bridging the gap between the government and the public, and providing various professional services for farmers. American agriculture is based on family operation. To solve the problems that individual farms find difficult to achieve, non-profit cooperatives are needed to provide various services and reduce production costs. Therefore, cooperatives are spread all over the country and develop steadily. In addition to agricultural machinery service projects in agricultural cooperatives, there are also agricultural machinery associations, agricultural machinery manufacturing enterprises, agricultural machinery dealers, etc. Agricultural machinery dealers are intermediary organizations between agricultural machinery enterprises and farmers. They not only carry out agricultural machinery promotion work and sell agricultural machinery products, but also engage in the use and rental activities of agricultural machinery.

Attach importance to enhancing the degree of organization of farmers

Comprehensively enhancing the organization level of farmers is an important and effective way for all countries to promote the development of agricultural mechanization. There are many agricultural operation companies in the United States that provide services for farmers. In Germany, 50% of agricultural households are part-time farmers. They have established organizations such as agricultural machinery usage cooperatives, mutual aid groups, and machine rental stations to serve farmers. France encourages farmers to establish cooperatives that jointly use agricultural machinery and equipment. In Western Europe, agricultural cooperatives have become an important carrier for the application, promotion and service of agricultural mechanization. After the war, Japan adopted a series of policies to promote various forms of mutual assistance and advance agricultural cooperation. Farmers' organizations have become the carriers that connect farmers and enhance the degree of organization, and they are the vital force in realizing agricultural mechanization.

Develop selectively in accordance with national conditions

To meet the needs of social productive forces and social development, agricultural mechanization should be selectively developed in accordance with national conditions. Take Japan as an example. Its development of agricultural mechanization has generally gone through three stages.

The period was from the end of World War II to the early 1960s. During this time, the Japanese economy was in a period of recovery and laying the foundation. For this reason, Japan mainly developed small-scale machinery with lower prices to replace most manual labor.

The second stage was from the early 1960s to the late 1980s, a period of rapid economic development in Japan. A large number of rural laborers flocked to cities, and the contradiction of insufficient agricultural labor force became increasingly prominent. There was an urgent need for better agricultural machinery to meet the needs of the new situation. Thus, wide-span combine harvesters, high-speed transplanters, large and medium-sized tractors and their matching agricultural machinery were successively introduced. Seedling raising has also been successively industrialized.

The third stage is from the late 1980s to the present. The characteristic of this period is the aging and feminization of agricultural labor force. Therefore, small, lightweight, easy-to-operate, comfortable and highly automated agricultural machinery has become the main feature of demand in this stage. Moreover, it is very good at introducing and absorbing foreign advanced experience and advanced technology according to needs. And in accordance with local conditions, agricultural machinery and agronomy should be organically combined to break free from the constraints of traditional production techniques, create new processes and new machinery, and achieve new breakthroughs.

Attach importance to the establishment of an education and training system

Another important feature of agricultural mechanization in developed countries is that farmers have high cultural and technical qualities, which is inseparable from the developed education and training systems in their own countries. The United States is one of the countries with the most developed education system in the world. Farmers not only generally receive 12 years of compulsory education, but also over 30% receive higher education. The level and quality of personnel engaged in agricultural science and technology promotion in Japan are generally above a bachelor's degree.

To enhance the quality of agricultural practitioners in their own countries, many nations have also formulated policies of free training. Through education and training, both farm owners and ordinary farmers have relatively rich knowledge. They can master the use, maintenance and repair of modern agricultural machinery and various vehicles, know how to use information and communication tools such as computers, and possess professional knowledge in multiple disciplines including environmental protection, horticulture and law. Not only do they have good work quality and high work efficiency, Moreover, due to people's high quality, good cultivation and broad vision, it provides theoretical basis for the adjustment of production structure, technology selection and decision-making, etc., overcomes blindness and lack of planning, and greatly improves agricultural productivity.

Development trend

The first is the automation and comfort of operation. When lawn mowers entered households in developed Western countries, the walking control push-type was the dominant product. By the 1990s, the walking control self-propelled type had taken its place. At present, the riding type is gradually replacing the walking type. Riding type lawn mowers that can achieve stepless zero turning radius and are easy to operate have already emerged. In the near future, intelligent lawn mowers with higher automation and more comfortable operation will appear.

The second is multi-functionality of one machine and joint operation. One machine with multiple uses refers to a type of machinery equipped with various working devices or accessories. By changing different devices, different tasks can be completed. This form is very suitable for relatively small green Spaces such as family or enterprise and public institution courtyards and residential communities. A lawn tractor developed by an American company, which is equipped with over ten accessories and whose main working device is a lawn mowing device, can almost perform all lawn maintenance and other courtyard operations. It has been very popular since its launch. Combined machines that can operate continuously simultaneously or according to a certain procedure are mainly used in large-scale landscaping projects, commercial green Spaces, specialized mechanical construction enterprises, etc. They can greatly enhance labor productivity.

The third is to pay more attention to environmental protection. Enterprises must vigorously improve the environmental protection performance of garden greening machinery, especially by controlling exhaust gas emissions and noise pollution, and reducing energy consumption. The development and production of low-pollution, or even pollution-free green garden machinery products is a long-term and arduous task in the future.

The fourth is to enhance safety. Including the safety of operators, the safety of people around, and the safety of the machine itself, various electronic interlock systems and safety braking systems that can ensure the safety of start-up and operation will be widely applied in garden greening machinery.