Farmers can find suitable seeds wherever they are
Recently, during an interview in Wenquan Village, Mashan Town, Xiangdong District, Pingxiang City, Jiangxi Province, the reporter saw that in the boundless paddy fields, different varieties of early, middle and late rice were growing side by side, each with its own characteristics, attracting dealers and large-scale growers who came here to stop and linger again and again. And the small wooden signs standing upright among the rice told the identity of these rice plants.
Approaching for a closer look, it turned out that Jiangxi Tianya Seed Industry was holding the "Yazhan-China" new variety release and observation meeting, and the protagonist of the observation meeting was a rice line named "Yazhan".
It is reported that "Yazhan" is a paternal variety obtained by the Tianya Seed Industry research team through crossing "Huazhan" with "Zhanhui 15" on the basis of the "Huazhan" variety bred by the China Rice Research Institute, and its yield, grain quality and rice blast resistance are all improved compared with Huazhan.
"In fact, we can regard 'Yazhan' as an upgraded and strengthened version of 'Huazhan', and this variety has relatively good adaptability. From what we can see now, the trial performance of several 'Yazhan' varieties is quite good, and in the future it will become one of our main product lines." Zhang Shaohu, general manager of Tianya Seed Industry, told the reporter.
Good varieties are deeply welcomed
"I have 200 mu of land, and this year I trial-planted 50 mu of 'Nongxiang Youyazhan'. Judging from the current growth, it is clearly better than the varieties of previous years. A bumper harvest is certain, and next year I will plant this variety on all my land!" Lu Yongguo, a large-scale grower from Xiangjia Village, Hongyan Town, Leping City, Jiangxi Province, told the reporter proudly.
"Our variety not only has a seed-setting rate of 86.4%, but its grain quality can also reach the national second-grade high-quality rice standard, and it is very popular among farmers." Zhang Youhe, general manager of the East China Division of Tianya Seed Industry, which operates "Nongxiang Youyazhan", told the reporter.
"Previously there were relatively few three-line middle-season rice varieties on the market, but in fact this category, which is both high-yielding and good in resistance, can reduce risks for enterprises and is relatively easy to control. At that time, we bred this variety also for this purpose, and it can be regarded as filling the market gap for three-line middle-season rice in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River." Tang Xianyan, the breeder of "Nongxiang Youyazhan" and a breeding expert at Tianya Seed Industry, told the reporter.
It is understood that, relying on a strong research team, Tianya Seed Industry has used the high-quality paternal line "Yazhan" to successively create ten Yazhan varieties including "Nongxiang Youyazhan", "Tianyou Yazhan", "Jiyou Yazhan" and "C Liangyou Yazhan", initially forming the product structure of the "Yazhan" line, which is deeply welcomed by growers and dealers. No need to worry about farmers' needs
With good varieties, it is still necessary to connect with farmers' needs. "At present, information in the seed market is still not very symmetrical. Often, good varieties exist but farmers do not know about them, and sometimes farmers' needs cannot truly be met." Zhang Shaohu told the reporter. "For this reason, our variety research and development is two-way. We not only need to promote good varieties to farmers, but also understand farmers' real needs to provide direction for our breeding."
It is reported that, relying on regional divisions and subsidiaries, Tianya Seed Industry has established more than a thousand variety demonstration sites across the country, and regularly sends technical personnel to villages and households. While publicizing and recommending good varieties and guiding farmers on how to plant scientifically, they also listen to the situations reported by farmers to further improve the varieties. "This year, high-temperature heat damage was relatively common in the south, but after years of experimental feedback, our varieties have shown relatively good comprehensive resistance, and the common people are very satisfied." Zhang Shaohu said.
In recent years, by combining modern breeding methods with market demand analysis, Tianya Seed Industry has launched new scientific research results every year, recommending to farmers a large number of high-yielding rice varieties with moderate maturity, high quality, multiple resistance and suitability for simplified cultivation, better solving the "last mile" problem of farmers' seed-use needs.
"It is not difficult to launch good varieties. The key is how to form a series so that farmers no matter where they are can find suitable varieties to plant. This is the original intention of our variety research, development and promotion." Zhang Shaohu said.
Scientific research talent can be retained
A complete product line must rely on strong scientific research strength for support. "If a seed enterprise only produces seeds in a single way, not only will the added value of products be low, but risks will also increase. Without mastering core technology, there is no market leadership." Zhang Shaohu said. For this reason, Tianya Seed Industry established an innovation-driven development strategy in its early stage of development, continuously promoting large-scale production, integration of breeding, propagation and promotion, and modernization of scientific research.
It is reported that Tianya Seed Industry has close cooperation with scientific research units such as the China National Hybrid Rice Research and Development Center and the Jiangxi Super Rice Research and Development Center, and has successively introduced many well-known domestic breeders, forming 6 breeding research groups. In addition, it has also cooperated with the research teams of Yan Long'an, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor of the Jiangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and Zhu Yingguo, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor of Wuhan University, and established an "Academician Workstation", with the company's scientific research strength growing day by day.
"With these experts in place, not only has our scientific research strength been improved, but our breeding vision has also been expanded. This is also the foundation for us to build a major product line." Yu Qiuping, scientific research director of Tianya Seed Industry, told the reporter.
In terms of base construction, Tianya Seed Industry has received strong support from the government. It not only built 100 mu of experimental fields at the company headquarters, but also, through land transfer, established a 300-mu scientific research base in Wenquan Village, which has excellent local natural conditions, and has successively undertaken important projects such as the national production test in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the Jiangxi Province single-season rice preliminary test. In addition, the company has also inherited the fine tradition of Pingxiang people in southern propagation and seed production, and established a 150-mu southern propagation base in Sanya, providing guarantees for variety research, development and testing.
"The introduction of talent and investment in scientific research are certainly important, but what is more important is to cultivate our own breeders." Zhang Shaohu said. In recent years, driven by the goal of building a commercial breeding platform, Tianya Seed Industry has successively established two major innovation platforms, the Jiangxi Hybrid Rice Breeding Technology Innovation Team and Jiangxi Huahao Rice Collaborative Innovation Technology Co., Ltd., committed to advancing talent cultivation and scientific and technological research and development simultaneously. Among them, Huahao Company, jointly built with Jiangxi Agricultural University, has become a new technological growth point for Tianya Seed Industry because it relies on the advantageous resource of a university.
"We must not only build a 'major product line' in products, but also build a 'Greater Tianya' in operations." Zhang Shaohu told the reporter. "Each of our divisions and subsidiaries can use Tianya's scientific research advantages to cultivate their own outstanding talent and jointly contribute to the company's growth."
"I think Tianya Seed Industry attaches great importance to both the work and life of scientific researchers. The company invests heavily in scientific research, allowing those of us engaged in breeding to work here with peace of mind. This is also the fundamental reason why the enterprise's talent advantage can be sustained." Tang Xianyan told the reporter from the perspective of a scientific researcher about his work experience here.