Henan's new colorful wheat varieties are nutritious and high-yielding

Have you ever seen a wheat ear as wide as a baby's palm and up to 20 cm long? Today, the reporter had the chance to see the latest cultivated wheat variety in the Yellow River beach area of Zhengzhou. Although it looks similar to ordinary wheat, the grains come in different colors such as black, red, green, blue and purple, and both yield and price are higher than ordinary wheat. The national average wheat yield is 480 kg per mu, while the new variety here has exceeded 900 kg per mu.

"I work on breeding. Without good seeds, no matter how good the land is or how much agricultural machinery there is, it is useless. We use the comprehensive breeding technology of 'Tai, nuclear, chemical and biological' applications, and have now successively created 15,000 wheat germplasm resources. This is also a rare wheat resource nursery in the country and even the world." Professor Zhou Zhongpu, the 85-year-old "father of colorful wheat," held a heavy wheat ear in his hand and introduced the characteristics of colorful wheat to the reporter.

In the breeding field, various new wheat varieties are planted in separate rows and columns. Zhou Zhongpu introduced that among them are descendants produced by crossing wheatgrass, dallisgrass and corn grass with wheat. The superior genes of these wild grasses are passed on to new wheat varieties through breeding. Some new varieties have wheat ears more than 20 cm long, and one variety produced 200 grains per single plant ear, twice as many as ordinary varieties. Zhou Zhongpu said that after three to five years of effort, he is confident of cultivating super-high-yield wheat with a yield of 1,000 kg per mu.

The cultivation and development of high-quality, high-yield colorful wheat is a microcosm of Henan Province relying on scientific and technological progress to vigorously develop modern efficient agriculture. In addition, colored wheat varieties such as black wheat, green wheat and purple wheat are also planted in the breeding field. Because these wheats are rich in various trace elements such as iodine, selenium, calcium, iron and zinc, they show different colors on the seed coat after maturity, and their nutritional value is also richer than ordinary varieties.

It is reported that the China Technology Market Association under the Ministry of Science and Technology established a high-quality super-high-yield wheat research and development center here yesterday. The 15,000 wheat germplasm resources owned by the center will be fully protected and utilized. According to Han Deqian, former vice minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology, who came to attend the unveiling ceremony of the research and development center, Henan's wheat sown area accounts for 1/10 of the country's total and its output accounts for 30% of the country's total. Doing a good job in cultivating high-yield wheat varieties and forming a domestic situation in which high-yield rice, wheat and corn stand as three pillars is of great significance for safeguarding China's food security and the effective supply of agricultural products.