After 20 years of continuous research, a team of researchers at Shandong Agricultural University led the team to complete the location, cloning and molecular mechanism analysis of the wheat scab resistance gene Fhb7, and cultivated wheat varieties resistant to scab resistance. Not long ago, the research was published as a cover article in the main issue of the international authoritative journal Science, and it was also included in the joint research plan for improved wheat varieties in China.
The team researched and established the three-stage theory of wheat production development, the theory and cultivation technology of high-yield cultivation of winter wheat precision seeding and wide-range precision seeding, benefiting more than 500 million acres of wheat fields and accumulatively increasing wheat production by more than 40 billion catties (23.66 million tons).
In recent years, more than 300 million acres have been promoted in the cultivation technology of reduced tillage and no-tillage suppression, and water-saving cultivation technology of measuring the moisture content of wheat. The achievements of the two academicians cover about half of the total wheat planting area in China.
For 40 years, the researchers have always been engaged in theoretical research on the supporting methods of improved varieties and methods and created a supporting fertility fertilisation technology of “returning straw to the field and two rotations and one deep tillage” and the high yield of “increasing population, resisting lodging, and increasing weight”.
The wheat variety PH82-2-2, selected by breeding experts, is the first large-scale promotion of high-quality bread wheat variety independently cultivated in my country, and it has won the second prize of national technological invention.
Today, Academician Yu Zhenwen leads the wheat cultivation and breeding team to carry forward the predecessor’s spirit of “serving the country with science and technology and serving agriculture, rural areas and farmers”, and continues to tackle key problems in scientific research on food security.
A large number of young researchers have grown into wheat experts, cultivating batches of talents who understand agriculture, love the countryside, and love farmers. Today, Shannong University has recruited publicly-funded agricultural students for four consecutive years to create a new force for rural revitalization, allowing generations of “new farmers” to truly integrate their “small self” into the “big self” of the motherland.
According to Statista around 25% of China´s workforce are in agriculture, but the sector is based largely on small, family-owned farms, and it is in many cases still quite old fashioned. In part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the global food shortage is growing, and China has for years known that there will be a battle of resources in the future to feed the world´s largest nation. One of the answers that is also backed by the national government is using tech to optimise output.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is at the top of the national agenda, however mostly applied in sectors such as finance, healthcare and smart city solutions. A report made it clear that farming was one of the industries left furthest behind in smart technologies, but also one of the areas with the biggest potential to upgrade.
According to the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), China will improve efforts to create higher yields and higher quality production of major food crop varieties, and self-sufficiency in major livestock and poultry varieties by 2030 by deploying technology, as reported by OpenGov Asia. China released an action plan to promote the national seed industry late last month in Sanya, South China’s Hainan province, where the Nanfan Scientific and Research Breeding Base is located.
The plan lays out the necessary theoretical, scientific and technological developments for the industry to improve seed varieties and grain yields, and ensure the protection of national germplasm resources. Since the beginning of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020), China’s ability to innovate in breeding technology has continued to rise. However, China is still in the process of developing breeding theories and key technologies.