Current location:Earth Explorer news portal > business
Reaping the Rewards of a Lifetime in the Fields
Earth Explorer news portal2024-05-08 17:23:08【business】8People have gathered around
IntroductionContact Us HomeNewsHighlightACWF NewsSocietyWom
- Home
- News
- People
- In-depth
- ACWF
Reaping the Rewards of a Lifetime in the Fields
ByLi Kun and Chen Meiling December 6, 2022Zhang stands in front of a field planted with different varieties of wheat in Xiangyang. [China Daily] |
As the Chinese saying goes, a seed can change the world; a variety can benefit a nation.
Zhang Daorong, who has spent the last 26 years cultivating 13 new varieties of wheat and contributing to national food security efforts, has done both.
The 50-year-old, who is dubbed the "mother of wheat", is a researcher at the Xiangyang Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Xiangyang City, Hubei Province. Xiangyang is the largest wheat production area in the province, and the yield in the city accounts for more than 40 percent of the provincial total.
The wheat varieties developed by Zhang and her colleagues have been grown on 2 million hectares of farmland and have generated net profits of over 100 million yuan ($14 million).
One of them produces large seed heads and is highly resistant to stripe rust; another is highly resistant to pre-harvest sprouting, which results in a decrease of the grain yield and affects the quality of flour and seed value for the following year.
Some are more suitable for making bread, and some are among the raw materials used to make the distiller's yeast for renowned alcohol brand Kweichow Moutai.
The research into new varieties requires strict standards and rigorous experiments.
"The first step is to find suitable parental types for a specific cultivation purpose. Then we try a hybrid combination," Zhang explained. "After several generations of trial and selection, and when characteristics remain stable, we begin a two-year process of yield testing and disease identification."
After several more rounds of tests, an application for evaluation and approval can be made to provincial or national authorities for market production.
"Generally speaking, a good new variety should produce high yields and stable production, show good resistance to bad conditions and be acceptable to the market," she added.
Wheat is planted in late October and matures in late May and early June. During the fallow period from June to September, Zhang said she doesn't rest because there is so much work to do, including data disposal, seed selection and planning for autumn sowing.
In her office, there is a 2-meter pile of materials related to a variety that has been cultivated for the last 18 years. Zhang said that the team planted 70,000 to 80,000 seedlings each year and were strict about conducting experiments, making records and analysis, before it passed approval in 2015.
"Key and core technologies cannot be taken, bought or begged for," she said.
When she graduated from the Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University in Daqing, Heilongjiang Province, in 1996, Zhang did not think she'd be dealing with agriculture for the rest of her life.
When she returned to her hometown in Xiangyang and joined the academy in 1997, she was not entirely satisfied with the job at first because the salary was low.
Over the last two decades though, working conditions and incomes for researchers have improved, and Zhang has also derived a great sense of achievement from studying agriculture.
She said that with the domestic and global economy still facing headwinds from the COVID-19 pandemic, it's her responsibility to work hard and contribute to food safety.
"Agricultural research work is hard and complicated. Sometimes your efforts do not pay off. All we can do then is think more, discuss more, ask more questions and find answers on the land," she said.
Today, Zhang's team is developing a semiwinterness wheat that produces high yields.
Zhou Fangju, a researcher at the academy, said that Zhang also cares about villages and farmers and promotes their research in rural areas.
"She also teaches younger researchers. Her spirit of innovation, dedication to work and empathy for people inspires us," Zhou said.
(Source: China Daily)
32.3KPlease understand that womenofchina.cn,a non-profit, information-communication website, cannot reach every writer before using articles and images. For copyright issues, please contact us by emailing: [email protected]. The articles published and opinions expressed on this website represent the opinions of writers and are not necessarily shared by womenofchina.cn.
Comments
Magazines
Projects
- 2023 Women Science and Technology Innovation Pioneer...
Photos
- People Enjoy Blooming Tulips in Jinan, East...
- Flowers Bloom Across China in Spring
Special Coverage
Address of this article:http://sudan.whetstonetavern.com/html-02b199914.html
Very good!(4)
Related articles
- Drake and Kendrick Lamar's feud, explained
- A's place second baseman Zack Gelof on injured list with left oblique strain
- Georgia tabs Cecile Landi, Simone Biles' longtime coach, as co
- Jaguars select LSU WR Brian Thomas Jr. in the NFL draft, giving QB Trevor Lawrence a big target
- Weddings should be subsidised by the government for low
- Rams make a rare first
- Driver charged with negligent homicide in fiery crash that shut down Connecticut highway bridge
- From flop to one
- Albanese rejects China's argument that Australia was at fault for dangerous aircraft encounter
- Frankie Capan III shoots 13
Popular articles
Recommended
'Samurai sword
Saints take Oregon State offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga 14th overall in the NFL Draft
China's Bronze Age relics enchant American audience
China to launch Shenzhou
1st Chinese tour group lands in New Zealand in 3 years
Meet the members of a transitional council tasked with choosing new leaders for beleaguered Haiti
Russian deputy defense minister detained on bribery charges
Brent Burns, Dmitry Orlov help Hurricanes hold on to beat Islanders 3
Links
- Thigh injury ends Qinwen Zheng's Madrid Open as Sabalenka and Rybakina progress
- Denis Bouanga's stoppage
- Katranis scores late, rallies Real Salt Lake to 2
- Liverpool's title hopes hit by 2
- Katranis scores late, rallies Real Salt Lake to 2
- A Hindu festival in southwestern Pakistan brings a mountainous region to life
- Wuhan notches season's first home win in Chinese Super League
- Now Europe copies Rishi on Rwanda: Slap in the face for self
- The Cowboys passed on running back in the NFL draft. A reunion with Ezekiel Elliott might be next
- Devastating footage shows horrific aftermath of tornadoes that barreled through Nebraska and Iowa