🚀 Imagine rice that thrives with 30% less fertilizer or wheat that laughs off powdery mildew—welcome to the future of farming! Scientists at the Chinese mainland's top research hub—the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)—are making it real.
📅 Since its launch in November 2019, the CAS's 'Precision Seed Design and Breeding' program has brought together experts from over 30 institutions. Over the past six years, they've created 37 pilot crop and livestock varieties, cultivated across nearly 14.48 million mu (about 965,000 hectares), boosting yields and sustainability.
🌾 One standout is the OsTCP19 gene in rice. By tweaking this key gene, researchers have kept yields strong even when cutting nitrogen fertilizer by 20–30%. That’s a major win against the fertilizer overload challenge.
🌱 In wheat, they’ve unlocked broad-spectrum resistance genes for powdery mildew and rolled out 'Zhongke 166,' a variety now planted on almost 1.5 million mu (100,000 hectares) that slashes pesticide use.
🧬 Using a homegrown genome-editing tool, researchers in the Chinese mainland have also crafted new wheat lines that combine high yields with disease resistance—proof that the old trade-off is finally over. In 2024, this work earned the Chinese mainland's first biosafety certificate for a gene-edited staple crop.
🚤 The innovations don’t stop at plants. In aquaculture, the program unveiled 'Zhongke 6,' a crucian carp that grows 25% faster, survives better, and converts feed 20.1% more efficiently. Plus, a boneless strain is now farm-ready.
🍚 And for rice fans, the 'Zhongkefa' series is a headline act: 'Zhongkefa 5' delivers 20% higher yields and stands tall in saline-alkaline soils, while 'ZKFZG1' is the mainland’s first early-season japonica rice for double-cropping—pushing fresh rice to market two to three months earlier.
🔬 These precision-designed seeds mark a shift from trial-and-error breeding to molecular design, slashing development times and tailoring crops for nutrition, stress tolerance, and resource efficiency. As the world grapples with food security and greener farming, the Chinese mainland’s breakthroughs could help feed billions sustainably. 🌍
Reference(s):
China develops 'precision-designed' seeds to boost food security
cgtn.com
