Leading scientific research and polishing the "chip" of the seed industry (with the Party flag flying high at the grassroots level), cultivating | rice | seed industry

In midsummer, walking into the experimental field near the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Nanchang County, Jiangxi Province, I saw researchers from the Super Rice Research and Development Center wearing straw hats, barefoot rolling sleeves, holding a seedling handle in their left hand, and planting seedlings in their right hand. "Now is the season for early rice flowering and middle rice transplanting. We will seize the key nodes of the experiment, play the role of the Party branch as a fighting fortress, carry out field skills competitions and other activities, and let Party building add momentum to scientific research." said Liu Xiumei, Secretary of the Central Party Branch.

Seeds are the "chips" of agriculture. In 2012, under the leadership of Yan Long'an, an academician of the CAE Member and a national outstanding Communist Party member, Jiangxi Super Rice Research and Development Center under the Jiangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences was officially established. In recent years, the center has always adhered to the deep integration of party building and scientific research work, allowing the party flag to fly high on the front lines of rice variety research, agricultural technology demonstration and promotion, and technical services, making important contributions to the revitalization of the rice seed industry and ensuring food security.

Convey the power of role models and strengthen the exemplary role of party members. "Adhering to the service of science and technology for agriculture, rural areas, and farmers, Academician Yan Long'an has demonstrated the mission and responsibility of a party member through practical actions." Xie Hongwei, Deputy Director of the Center, sighed when discussing the collection of wild rice varieties. Although he is over eighty years old, Yan Long'an is still fighting on the front line of scientific research, flying to collect rice seed samples nationwide and even around the world. After sending the seedlings back to Jiangxi for testing and research, he often rushed to the Hainan base overnight to properly store the rice seeds. The favorable genes extracted from wild rice will be used to cultivate new and excellent varieties for generations.

"Putting the people in their hearts, no matter how hard or tiring, we must persevere to the end!" This is Yan Long'an's original intention and also the spiritual motivation to motivate the research personnel of the center to work hard and overcome difficulties. The process of rice breeding is long, and it takes 8 to 10 years to select a new variety. The more difficult the conditions are, the less one can sit in the laboratory; the more extreme the climate is, the more one needs to rush to the fields. In order to obtain the most realistic and intuitive data, researchers have been sticking to the field for a long time.

For decades, Cao Zhibin, the deputy director of the center, has been focusing on the cultivation of high-temperature resistant varieties. In 2022, there will be a once-in-50 year high temperature in the local area, and some fields will only have 20-30% of their harvest left, which may not even cover the cost of harvesting. In May 2022, the team led by Cao Zhibin successfully cloned the high-temperature tolerance functional gene of rice after 11 years of collaborative research and development, which can greatly improve the seed setting rate of rice under the influence of high temperature during the flowering period. Now, new combinations selected using relevant new germplasm are participating in provincial and national regional trials and demonstration planting. "When facing extreme high temperatures, new varieties can also achieve an 80% harvest," Cao Zhibin said with relief.

At the center, there are still many achievements like this. Xie Hongwei's team has cultivated a new type of three line hybrid rice with excellent disease and pest resistance from wild rice; Nie Yuanyuan, a party member and deputy researcher of the branch, has cultivated high-quality water-saving and drought resistant rice varieties in 7 years... In the past 5 years, the center has approved more than 40 rice varieties at the national and provincial levels, covering 10.3% of the rice planting areas in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The series of varieties independently selected by the center, such as "Rongyou 225" and "Yexiang Youhang 1573", have been promoted over 45 million mu in provinces such as Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, and Guangxi, with an average increase of 20 kilograms per mu.

Strengthen branch construction and promote the deep integration of party building and scientific research. Farmers plant rice twice a year, and the comrades at the center plant four seasons a year: "In addition to planting early, middle, and late rice in Jiangxi, they also fly to Sanya, Hainan to plant one season every year." To strengthen the construction of the party branch, the team carried out branch building activities in Hainan and sister units, formed teams for red day reading, and held technical exchange lectures.

Assistant researcher Tang Xiuying at the center, the child is not yet 3 years old. During her time at the Nanfan Base in Sanya, Tang Xiuying could only contact her child through video calls. "When farming is busy, we must race against time, and the seeds are also my children. As a party member and a scientific researcher, we cannot forget our responsibilities," Tang Xiuying said.

In addition to scientific research work, the center actively promotes the development of science and technology in rural areas, and carries out practical actions to serve the people. Party members of the branch have footprints in one-third of the counties and cities in Jiangxi Province. In Gao'an City, in order to cope with extreme drought and preserve 1000 acres of experimental fields, including other research teams, the center members raised more than 30000 yuan from their own research funds to purchase irrigation equipment; In Xiangdong District, Pingxiang City, Cao Zhibin, who was once appointed as the deputy mayor of Paishang Town, rushed to implement insurance compensation for the large seed production households facing losses. It is reported that team members train more than 9100 personnel in various regions every year, with an average of over 470 people per party member guiding enterprises, cooperatives, and major grain growers each year.