Agricultural science and technology can never lag behind others, says Wang Qinglian

In the half-person-high shrubs, at the end of each branch node are four or five white fluffy cotton bolls, bulging as they push open the bracts. With high skies and light clouds, blue sky, fresh breeze, and clusters of cotton bolls, it feels as if you have stepped into a fairy-tale world covered in cotton candy. In fact, this is just the most ordinary cotton field.

"When the flowers bloom, the world is warm; when the flowers fall, the world is cold." For 40 years, Wang Qinglian's research on cotton has been firm and persistent, never changing.

Wang Qinglian, 60 years old this year, is a professor at Henan Institute of Science and Technology and a nationally renowned cotton breeding expert. The "Baimian" series of cotton varieties he bred are important insect-resistant cotton varieties in China, providing important scientific and technological support for safeguarding China's independence in cotton scientific research.

"When I started researching cotton, it was still an era when people could not eat their fill or dress warmly." Wang Qinglian said that clothing depended on cotton and money depended on cotton. At that time, the national cotton planting area was 90 million mu, but the per-unit yield was less than 50 kg. "If cotton yields increase more, ordinary people can earn more money and suffer less from the cold." Seeing too many people suffering from cold and poverty because of a lack of cotton, Wang Qinglian resolved to use science and technology to change people's lives.

For cotton to be high-yielding, the key is the variety. In 1983, Wang Qinglian began cultivating his first cotton variety, and the research lasted 20 years. In 1991, the new cotton variety cultivated by Wang Qinglian had already taken shape and stabilized, but an assistant, while mixing seed treatment and sowing, accidentally destroyed all the seeds, and all the materials were scrapped. In the coldest days of winter, upon hearing the bad news, Wang Qinglian collapsed into a chair, sweating all over, soaking through his cotton-padded clothes and trousers. The next day, after a sleepless night and a huge outburst of temper, Wang Qinglian gathered all the researchers to start again from the beginning.

Hard work pays off. In 2001, Wang Qinglian successfully bred "Baimian No. 1", achieving a yield increase of 15.8%. Because of its stable yield and strong disaster resistance, it quickly spread through the cotton region of the Yellow River basin and became one of the main cotton planting varieties in China.

In the following years, Wang Qinglian led his team to breed more than 10 varieties, including "Baimian No. 3", "Baimian 985", and "Baimian Chang 6". At present, the "Baimian" series varieties have been planted cumulatively over 50 million mu nationwide, with yield-increasing benefits exceeding 7 billion yuan, firmly grasping China's voice in cotton. "Now we can proudly say that more than 99% of the main cotton varieties planted in China are our own Chinese varieties." Wang Qinglian said.

In 40 years of scientific research, Wang Qinglian has always believed in the power of science and technology. Using modern biological breeding technology, China's average cotton yield per mu can reach 100 kg, double that of 1980; the "Baimian Chang 6" variety bred by Wang Qinglian can spin 330-count high-grade yarn, 8 times that of ordinary cotton. A shirt woven from this long-staple cotton weighs only 100 grams and can be held in one hand. Chinese people have grown the world's best cotton.

"As China goes global, Chinese agriculture must also go global." In 2004, Wang Qinglian led a breeding team to conduct cotton scientific research exchanges with Kyrgyzstan, built a 3,000-mu industrial demonstration park, and promoted cotton varieties that increased yields by more than 40% compared with local varieties. Henan Institute of Science and Technology also cooperated with American universities on cotton molecular biology research and signed an agreement with the U.S. agriculture department to share seed resources for cotton molecular design breeding research.

Despite abundant scientific research achievements, Wang Qinglian instead feels great pressure. "In the past two years, the domestic cotton planting area has dropped to 60 million mu. Costs are high and comparative profits are low. Ordinary people are unwilling to grow cotton, and cotton has entered a trough." Wang Qinglian said. At present, using scientific research breeding to promote supply-side reform of the cotton industry has become Wang Qinglian's most important topic. Wang Qinglian has begun focusing on researching and breeding market-scarce varieties such as high-elasticity fiber cotton and extra-premium long-staple cotton, as well as cotton varieties with compact plant architecture that are more suitable for mechanized harvesting.

"Scientific and technological innovation is the support for improving productivity and the key to solving all difficulties. With grain for security and clothing for the world, China's agriculture must not be relaxed at any time, and agricultural science and technology can never lag behind others." Wang Qinglian said. Song Xiaodong