Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
    China
    Home / China / Innovation

    Breakthroughs in tech lift soybean production

    By WANG XIAODONG | CHINA DAILY | Updated: 2020-08-25 07:39
    Share
    Share - WeChat
    [Photo/Sipa]

    Nation has reached 'world-class level' in some research areas, scientist reports

    Technological breakthroughs have resulted in an increased output of soybeans in China in recent years, and further progress is expected to improve domestic supply, said a top expert.

    "National support for agricultural scientific and technological research that covers the whole chain of agricultural production has played a crucial role in ensuring food security, which has withstood tests such as the COVID-19 pandemic," said Han Tianfu, chief scientist for soybeans under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

    "In terms of scientific research on soybeans, China has continued to make progress in recent years and has reached world-class level in some research fields."

    Last year, Chinese scientists published over 700 soybean research papers in English in various influential international science journals, more than any other country in the world, said Han, also a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

    With the adoption of new technologies, per-hectare production of soybeans in China reached more than 1.9 metric tons last year, an increase of 83 percent since 1978, he said. A number of scientific and technological achievements have been made in soybeans in recent years, contributing to increased yields.

    In recent years, about 200 new soybean cultivars have been released annually, extending soybean production to most parts of China, Han said. Zhonghuang-13, a superior cultivar bred by scientists from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, had been grown in over 7 million hectares of farmland across China by the end of 2018, which helped increase yields by 16 percent in Anhui province.

    In Xinxiang, Henan province, soybean yields exceeded 4.6 tons per hectare in a pilot farmland last year, 2.5 times the national average level, due to promotion of new farming technologies that involved innovative no-tillage and stalk-covering methods, Han said.

    The latest genome-editing technologies have also been used to develop new soybean cultivars that can adapt to low-latitude areas in southern China.

    The research, which used a genome-editing tool known as CRISPR/Cas9 to "knock out" two key genes that regulate soybean flowering time and maturity, made it possible to promote soybeans in tropical regions, Han said.

    Existing major programs funded by the government, such as China Agricultural Research System, which incorporates agricultural researchers across China in various disciplines and covers 50 industries, have played an important role in the elevation of agricultural research and development, he said, adding more progress is expected in the next few years.

    Although the soybean is native to China, the country has relied on imports, mostly from Brazil and the United States, to meet increasing domestic demand for edible oil and animal protein. Most of the 88.5 million tons of soybean it imported last year-accounting for more than 80 percent of domestic consumption-was processed into oil and animal feed.

    "Compared with major crops such as rice, wheat and corn, soybean has much lower yields and requires more land, which is a major reason why it has not been promoted as extensively in China because of limited arable land," Han said.

    However, efforts on improving production of soybean in China have never stopped, Han said.

    Last year, total soybean production in China exceeded 18 million tons-a historic high and an increase of 13 percent compared with the previous year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

    "To rejuvenate soybean production, more investment is needed in the next few years in soybean scientific research and improving the application of the latest technological achievements, such as new soybean strains created by biotechnology," Han said.

    Meanwhile, with big gaps expected to remain between domestic supply and demand, changing unhealthy eating habits that rely on too much oil and animal protein can also reduce demand for soybeans, he said. Thus, domestic supply could meet demand and China would rely less on imports.

    Top
    BACK TO THE TOP
    English
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
     
    亚洲一区精品无码| 日韩成人无码中文字幕| 中文 在线 日韩 亚洲 欧美| 国产AV无码专区亚洲AV手机麻豆| 佐藤遥希在线播放一二区| 日韩欧精品无码视频无删节 | 精品无码AV一区二区三区不卡| 99re只有精品8中文| 久久国产精品无码网站| 久久久久亚洲AV无码专区体验| 中文字幕久久亚洲一区| 亚洲欧美日韩在线中文字幕| 免费无码AV一区二区| 无码一区二区三区免费| 久久AV高潮AV无码AV| 最近2018中文字幕免费视频| 中文字幕亚洲乱码熟女一区二区 | 无码人妻丰满熟妇区五十路百度| 中文字幕在线免费看线人| 亚洲日韩中文无码久久| 亚洲?V无码乱码国产精品 | 亚洲免费日韩无码系列 | 国产拍拍拍无码视频免费| 亚洲精品无码久久久影院相关影片 | 亚洲中文字幕无码爆乳AV| 国产日韩精品无码区免费专区国产| 无码人妻一区二区三区免费看| 亚洲AV无码日韩AV无码导航| 亚洲国产AV无码专区亚洲AV| 中文字幕乱码人妻无码久久| 中文字幕无码AV波多野吉衣| 亚洲欧洲日产国码无码久久99 | 免费看又黄又无码的网站| 日本在线中文字幕第一视频| 欧美日韩中文国产一区| 91中文字幕yellow字幕网| 亚洲人成中文字幕在线观看| 亚洲精品无码午夜福利中文字幕 | 91中文字幕在线| 久久亚洲中文字幕精品一区| 中文字幕精品一区|