Yuzujiaoyuan is getting sunny, and spring ploughing is done for thousands of miles.
In the fields in spring, the planter is sowing seeds and sowing a good harvest for the year.
"The safety of seed sources is related to national security. We must be determined to develop my country's seed industry, realize the self-reliance and self-improvement of seed industry science and technology, and the independent control of seed sources." When meeting with members of the social security community, General Secretary Xi Jinping mentioned the proposition of seed industry innovation.
According to data released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the coverage rate of improved crops in my country is more than 96%, which means that Chinese grains are mainly grown in China.
But there is such a set of data, which is mixed -
Rice and wheat can be 100% self-sufficient;
The corn planting area exceeds 90%, basically achieving self-sufficiency;
Soybeans are import dependent;
Most vegetables, fruits, cotton, oilseeds and other economic crops, domestic varieties have strong competitiveness, but there is still a gap;
Some common vegetable varieties, such as tomatoes and broccoli, have a relatively high proportion of seeds imported.
The 2020 Central Economic Work Conference and the Central Rural Work Conference emphasized that it is necessary to make a good turn in the seed industry and carry out technological breakthroughs in the "stuck neck" of seed sources; in 2021, the No. 1 Central Document proposed that for agricultural modernization, seeds are the foundation, and it is necessary to "struggle well". The seed industry has turned a corner"; in 2022, the No. 1 Central Document will make specific arrangements for the full implementation of the revitalization of the seed industry...
The seeds are likened to "chips" and repeatedly proposed to "make a good turn in the seed industry", which shows the central government's emphasis on the seed industry and its determination to "break the card".
A seed can change a world, a technology can create a miracle.
There is a small building in the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the National Crop Germplasm Bank, where tens of thousands of seeds of various shapes are stored.
They are collected from all over the country and even all over the world. Although some have been dormant for decades, they still maintain a germination rate of more than 90% and are ready to grow.
The reason these seeds are so carefully treasured is that they are a treasure trove of crop breeding.
my country is a country with large species resources, and these species with regional characteristics are a country's long-term strategic resources.
Doing a good job in the protection and utilization of agricultural germplasm resources is the "first battle" for the seed industry to turn around.
Important progress has been made in the construction of the national germplasm resource bank, with a capacity of 1.5 million copies and a storage life of more than 50 years, ranking first in the world in terms of preservation capacity; the national marine fishery biological germplasm resource bank will be officially put into operation in October 2021; the livestock and poultry germplasm bank has been Project approval, the construction of agricultural microbial gene bank is also actively planned... This is an important strategic resource of our country. Only with a strong gene bank can we be in an invincible position in international competition.
On March 17, the Shenzhou 13 crew stayed in orbit for five months, setting a new record of 150 days for Chinese astronauts in orbit.
In five months, the astronauts conducted a number of scientific and technological experiments and applications, one of which was space breeding.
Since 1987, my country has screened more than 1,200 new materials through space breeding, and cultivated more than 260 new varieties of rice, wheat, soybeans, vegetables, etc., with an annual promotion area of more than 40 million mu.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, 80% of the growth of total grain production depends on the increase in yield per unit, and 60% to 80% of the increase in yield per unit comes from the contribution of improved varieties.
It is not easy to cultivate good seeds—
In terms of time, scientists' breeding takes at least five, eight years or even longer.
From the perspective of the situation, the global agricultural biotechnology is iteratively upgraded and the competition intensifies.
How to crack?
"We must give full play to our country's institutional advantages, scientifically allocate superior resources, promote the construction of major national innovation platforms in the seed industry, strengthen basic and cutting-edge research, strengthen the collection, protection, development and utilization of germplasm resources, and accelerate the pace of biological breeding industrialization." General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized this when he participated in the joint group meeting of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
In recent years, the development of my country's modern seed industry has achieved remarkable results: the self-sufficiency rates of core seeds of livestock and poultry and aquatic products have reached 75% and 85% respectively, the contribution rate of improved seeds to the increase of grain production in my country exceeds 45%, and the seed sources such as corn and pigs Based on domestic security.
"The yield per mu is 1,586.86 kg!" In Sanya, Hainan, the double-season hybrid rice yield exceeded 1,500 kg per mu; on the coast of the Bohai Sea in Shandong, the "saline-alkali land" that used to have weak soil and low harvests has become a high-yielding field.
From hybrid rice to saline-alkali-tolerant wheat, technology enables seeds to take root and sprout in a wider area, ensuring food security in China.
The weather is getting warmer, spring returns to the earth, and agricultural production in spring has entered a critical period.
In Yongchuan, Chongqing, a "printing" rice technique is being staged in the field——
Before the production of seedlings, the rice seeds are first fixed on the rolls of paper through glue point adhesion; after that, the paper with the printed rice seeds is spread evenly in the seedling field, and the paper is covered with a layer of plastic film.
Under the action of dew, the seeds "printed" on the paper germinate and grow, and the paper "printed" with the seeds can also automatically degrade in muddy water.
Compared with traditional seeding, this printing seeding technology can achieve uniform and precise sowing of rice seeds, saving more than 30% of rice seeds.
Behind the high-quality development of the seed industry is tireless innovation——
On May 12, 2021, Hainan officially established the Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory.
Today, the Seed Laboratory has built 10 public and open scientific research platforms, including the Precision Design Breeding Center and the Nanfan Crop Phenotyping Research Facility, with a total area of more than 240,000 square meters; 40 teams, 750 researchers, and 1,158 graduate students There are 56 post-doctoral fellows and 56 postdoctoral fellows; 20 universities, scientific research institutions, and seed enterprises, including the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and China Seed Group, have been introduced as governing units.
China Agricultural University has set up "China Seed Industry Elite Class" and "Corn and Wheat Breeding School" to cultivate practical talents for enterprises; Beijing is committed to building "Agricultural Zhongguancun" and plans to cultivate a large number of large-scale seed industries that can independently innovate and have core competitiveness enterprise……
Breakthroughs in key technologies, daily study and persistence are the unyielding declaration of the Chinese seed industry that is not afraid of challenges.
At the beginning of this month, the newly revised "Seed Law of the People's Republic of China" was officially implemented, creating a good legal environment for the revitalization of the seed industry.
Sow good seeds and have a good harvest.
Only by realizing the self-reliance and self-improvement of the seed industry technology and the independent control of the seed source, can one good seed be able to break the "stuck neck" and "grow" a good life of prosperity.
Relying on self-reliance, we feed ourselves!