Abstract: China's total grain output had exceeded 650 million tons since seven years ago, with great achievement of ever-increased grain output for 18 consecutive years. However, China's cereal production is facing many severe challenges, such as the shortage of agricultural natural resources per capita, higher cost for crop production per hectare, and sharp decrease of labor population. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss the frontiers and the directions of scientific and technological innovation in China’s field crop cultivation. According to the existing problems in field crop production, the major scientific and technological requirements of China's field crop, such as the cooperative cultivation of high-quality and high-yield and high-efficient, the green cultivation of energy conservation and emission reduction, and the "unmanned" intelligent cultivation, were elaborated. The scientific and technological frontiers and development status and trends of field crop cultivation at home and abroad were analyzed emphatically. The key scientific and technological breakthrough directions and paths were pointed out in three aspects: the coordination cultivation of high-quality and high-yield and high-efficient, the green cultivation of carbon fixation and energy saving and emission reduction, and the "unmanned" intelligent cultivation. Finally, the measures and suggestions for scientific and technological innovation of China’s field crop cultivation were put forward from the aspects of policy top-level design and effective investment, increasing the research and development of basic theories, the key technologies and practical products, and increasing the cultivation of compound talents.  

Key words: crop cultivation, frontier of science and technology, innovation direction, development suggestions