Chinanews.com, Liuzhou, February 26th, title: 13 "Space Bauhinia Seeds" in Liuzhou, Guangxi successfully emerged and the cultivation process was like dismantling a "blind box"

　　Author Wei Guozheng

　　On February 25, Meng Xingning, a senior engineer at the Liuzhou Institute of Landscape Science in Guangxi, came to the flower shed routinely to water the 13 "Space Bauhinia" seedlings that had been transplanted from the light incubator to a large pot not long ago. The seedlings below are growing well.

The picture shows the staff transplanting the seedlings of "Space Bauhinia" from the breeding tray to the big pot.

Photo by Liao Hongwei

　　In June last year, under the unified organization of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, Liuzhou Garden Science Research Institute sent 1,000 Bauhinia seeds to the Space Breeding Industry Innovation Alliance.

After approval, more than 200 Bauhinia seeds took the Shenzhou 14 manned spacecraft and "traveled" in space for half a year. Through space breeding, the special environment of space was used to induce genetic mutations in the Bauhinia seeds and breed them into new varieties.

　　"The mutation rate of space radiation is relatively high, reaching 1%, while ordinary radiation breeding can only reach 1/1000, which is equivalent to a 10-fold increase in probability." Xie Taojie, director of Liuzhou Landscape Science Research Institute, said.

　　On January 3, the "Space Bauhinia Seeds" officially returned to Liuzhou. After they were disinfected and soaked, researchers from the Liuzhou Institute of Horticultural Sciences immediately sowed the seeds into breeding trays, waiting for them to take root and germinate.

The picture shows the seedlings of "Space Bauhinia".

Wei Guozheng

　　"In January, the temperature is low. For the breeding work of 'Space Bauhinia', the difficulties we encountered in the early stage are to control the temperature, moisture and sufficient light conditions for these seeds." Responsible for taking care of the "Space Bauhinia Seeds" every day Meng Xingning, who grew up, explained that Bauhinia seeds are usually sown in June every year, and the suitable growth temperature is above 23 degrees Celsius. Because of the abnormal breeding period at that time, researchers placed the seeds in a light incubator for cultivation, and set The temperature, humidity and light suitable for the growth of Bauhinia chinensis create a good growth environment for it.

　　After more than 2 months of growth in the light incubator, "Space Bauhinia" gradually took root and germinated. Among them, 13 seedlings grew vigorously, reaching a height of about 10 centimeters, and the breeding tray could no longer meet its growth needs.

The staff recently transplanted it into a large pot and put it in a greenhouse to grow together with other Bauhinia that have already bloomed, so that it can gradually adapt to the surrounding environment.

　　As the "city flower" of Liuzhou City, Bauhinia has "settled" in Liuzhou for more than 80 years. In 2012, the city proposed the construction of "Garden City", and set a "Garden City" with Bauhinia as the main landscape and four seasons as the supplement. planning.

After years of natural hybridization and evolution, Bauhinia has formed four series of flower colors: purple, pink, pink, and white, and the flower colors are relatively single.

Xie Taojie said: "The breeding process is like unpacking the 'blind box'. I hope that through space breeding, we can breed Bauhinia bauhinia with richer flower colors, stronger floral fragrance, and larger flower shapes."

　　At present, the city has planted more than 5,000 mu and nearly 300,000 Bauhinia plants, making it the city with the largest number and scale of Bauhinia plantations in China.

At the end of March every year, the streets and alleys of the city are surrounded by Bauhinia in full bloom, and the whole city seems to be immersed in a pink sea.

　　From 1987 to the present, China has developed space breeding for nearly 36 years. Initially, space breeding focused on agricultural products such as rice, wheat, and vegetables, in order to cultivate high-quality agricultural products with higher yields and richer nutrition to ensure food security.

Today, in addition to crops such as grain, vegetables, fruits, and oil, more and more breeding materials such as forests, grasses, flowers, Chinese herbal medicines, and microorganisms have received "tickets" to carry out mutation breeding in outer space, thus becoming a comprehensive and higher-quality material. of new varieties.

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