Chinese scientists have achieved groundbreaking progress in developing precision-engineered crop varieties, offering a dual solution to food security and sustainable agriculture challenges. The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) revealed this week that its six-year 'Precision Seed Design and Breeding' program has yielded 37 advanced crop and livestock varieties now cultivated across 965,000 hectares.
Key innovations include rice requiring 30% less fertilizer through the OsTCP19 gene discovery, and disease-resistant wheat varieties like Zhongke 166 that reduce pesticide use. Researchers have also accelerated wild rice domestication using genome editing, achieving in years what previously required decades of traditional breeding.
Notable breakthroughs extend beyond staple crops: new high-yield soybean varieties address import dependence, while fast-growing Zhongke 6 crucian carp improves aquaculture efficiency. The program's star performer, Zhongkefa 5 rice, delivers 20% higher yields in saline soils and ranks among China's top five conventional varieties.
CAS Academician Li Jiayang emphasized this marks a paradigm shift: 'We're moving from trial-and-error breeding to molecular design – creating crops with specific traits like drought tolerance or enhanced nutrition.' The achievements position China at the forefront of agricultural innovation, with implications for global food systems as climate challenges intensify.
