From basic research to "bio-economy", unravel the mystery behind the increase in rapeseed yield

A few days ago, based on the research on mustard type rape, the team of Wu Xiaoming, a researcher at the Oil Crops Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, joined forces with the Nuovo Zhiyuan R&D and Cooperation Center to start the research on analyzing and using the genes of high-quality traits to improve the yield of rapeseed

On May 10, the "14th Five-Year Plan for Bio-economic Development" was officially announced, which will promote the development of the bio-agricultural industry as an important part of cultivating and expanding the pillar industries of the bio-economy, and it is clear that it is necessary to improve the production capacity and quality of important agricultural products such as grain

As one of the oldest economic crops, rapeseed has been cultivated in China for thousands of years.

Rapeseed - one of the oldest cash crops

Wang Hanzhong, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and vice president of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said in an interview with a reporter from Science and Technology Daily that rapeseed is the largest oil crop grown in China, accounting for more than 50% of domestic vegetable oil.

According to the statistics of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, rapeseed can be divided into three types: mustard type, cabbage type and cabbage type.

In addition to food, rape can also be used as industrial raw materials

It is because rape has such a wide range of economic value that China began to try to cultivate rape as early as thousands of years ago

"Compendium of Materia Medica" pointed out that the "mustard" and "brassica" cultivated in ancient times are today's rapeseed

In the Song Dynasty, the commodity economy prevailed, edible oil became more and more obvious along with the progress of the catering industry, and the demand for rapeseed oil became more and more strong

In order to increase the yield of rapeseed and gain more profits, in the Yuan Dynasty, southern China used idle fields in winter to grow rapeseed, and developed a production model of rapeseed and rice rotation; in the Ming Dynasty, the Jiangnan region pioneered the "Rape Seedling Transplanting Technology", which solved the problem of rapeseed and rice.

The diligent pursuit of increasing the yield and quality of rapeseed

　　How to improve the yield and quality of rapeseed is also an important topic of continuous research by many scientists

　　In order to clarify the relationship between the genetic evolution and environmental effects of the mustard-type rapeseed local variety "Sichuan Yellow Seed", the team of Liu Zhongsong, a professor at Hunan Agricultural University, and the team of Hua Wei, a researcher at the Oil Crops Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, cooperated with Nuohe Zhiyuan in research and development.

　　According to the analysis of Li Jiayang, the project leader of the achievement, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and researcher of the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, compared with traditional breeding techniques, the emergence of molecular breeding has realized the transition from relying on experience to directional, efficient and precise breeding.

　　In the processing link, in recent years, some national key enterprises of agricultural industrialization have vigorously promoted the construction of rapeseed industrial chain and demonstration bases under the guidance of the Oil Crops Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University and other scientific research institutes, helping local farmers to increase their income and become rich

　　The breakthrough of new technology heralds the development trend of the industry in the future, prompting enterprises of different roles to participate in it

　　This year, the Department of Science, Technology and Education of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs organized the 2022 "Rape Industry Green Revolution Science and Technology Action" online meeting to promote the work of the rapeseed area in winter, and issued the "Rape Industry Green Revolution Science and Technology Action Plan" to focus on expanding rape production and increasing rape planting area

　　Diversified research fields, extensive market demand, and strong support from superimposed policies, the bio-economy industry is continuously attracting scientists, entrepreneurs, government agencies and other forces for in-depth exploration, and a virtuous circle of the bio-economy industry is gradually forming
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(Science and Technology Daily reporter Ma Aiping)