Hoping to attract more customers, some shops are offering free oil, rice and transportation to people buying seeds. Han and his wife trudge between the shops, clutching an ever-increasing number of colorful pamphlets, but after three hours their 2,000 yuan in cash remains firmly in their hands.

"To tell the truth, my eyes are already aching after seeing so many items. No matter which I picked up, the salesmen all said almost the same thing, talking about high yields and a strong tolerance to high winds, drought and insects," Cui said. "Why can't we have more big brands like Pioneer 335? We wouldn't need to make such a hard decision then," she complained.

Spreading the risk

Not only the elderly are baffled by the proliferation of seed varieties. Younger growers, who can boast an education and plenty of experience of working in the fields, have been left scratching their heads too. Han Chang'an, 50, the couple's nephew, grows corn on his 4 hectares of land. He's respected in the village and people always consult him when they have problems in their fields. "It's really hard to choose from so many varieties. So each year I usually buy seven or eight different varieties to spread the risk. I dare not put all my eggs in one basket. If I was unlucky and bought some counterfeit seeds, at least I could still harvest produce from fields where I'd sown other varieties," he said.

Most of the farmers do the same and there are usually at least 30 different strains of corn growing in the village. "Farmers have an obvious blindness when choosing corn seeds. It's usual for one family to grow four or five different strains. They think it's a good way of avoiding risks, but many of these varieties are hard to manage and require different growing regimes, sometimes more water or fertilizer, and that can lead to a decrease in yields," said Sun.

Eventually, after several hours of shopping, Han and his wife bought three different strains of corn to plant on their 1.3 hectares. "The strong winds may not hit us again, so we still bought some Pioneer 335. We also bought a variety called Yufa 188, which was recommended by a neighbor, and some Nongda 2188, suggested by relatives. I've kept all the receipts in case we need to claim compensation," said Cui.

"For farmers like us, growing grain is a gamble. It's only when we've sown the seeds, seen the seedlings and then the big yellow corn, that we can breathe a sigh of relief," she admitted.