Research Highlights
Green Super Rice
The research team led by Academician Zhang Qifa has successfully developed the hybrid rice resistant to rice stem borers and other main rice diseases, whose yield and quality traits are equivalent to those of the hybrid rice varieties largely promoted currently by using molecular marker-assisted selection technology. The new rice with a marked productivity increase is remarkably cost-saving, and environmentally friendly. On August 17, 2009, the genetically modified rice varieties "Huahui 1" and "Bt Shanyou 63" developed by the team became the first genetically modified rice varieties granted Production and Application Safety Certificate in China.
Double-low Hybrid Rapeseed
The research team led by Academician Fu Tingdong has successfully bred the quality double-low rapeseed – Huaza Series, Huashuang series and other new varieties, bringing about 10-20% increase in yield as compared to the conventional ones. The quality double-low rapeseed varieties have been popularized in Central China with an accumulative extension area of about 10 million hectares, and have generated an economic benefit of 4.5 billion RMB.
Lean Hubei White Swine
The research team led by Academician Xiong Yuanzhu has been devoted to the breeding and promotion of lean swine. In the 1980s, the team succeeded in breeding the Hubei White Swine and its family by applying the modern Quantitative genetic theories and Duhu Pig sold well in Hong Kong and Macau. Professor Chen Huanchun worked out the breeding and selecting techniques to produce lean swine varieties lean swine and bred 7 specialized parent strains, forming a distinctive lean swine production system. The team has developed a lean swine breeding technology system as well as achievements popularization service system, creating enormous social and economic benefits.
Animal Vaccines
The research team led by an academician Chen Huanchun has systematically carried out basic and preventive technology research on major animal epizootics, developed over 30 varieties of new vaccines and rapid diagnostic kits. The team has won 1 second prize of National Scientific and Technological Progress Award, 2 first prizes of Hubei Provincial Scientific and Technological Progress Award, obtained 14 patents, 11 new veterinary medicine registration certificates, and 4 national key new products certificates. These products have effectively prevented and controlled the major epizootics in Chinese livestock industry, bringing great economic and social benefits.
High-quality Citrus
The research team led by professor Zhang Wencai and professor Deng Xiuxin has bred 11 citrus varieties which are greatly popularized in Central South China, with a coverage rate of more than 80% in the 8 main citrus producing areas, supplying 0.1 million high-quality virus-free seedlings and more than 0.1 million scions to citrus production bases there. With the high-yield and high-efficiency citrus cultivation techniques and the quality seedlings bred by the team, seedling and scion nurseries have been established in over 30 counties across the country, with a popularization area of more than 0.1 million hectares.
Potato Microtuber
The potato microtuber production technology developed by Professor Xie Conghua has resolved the problem that seed potatoes easily degrade due to virus infection; 3 square meters breeding space in lab is sufficient to cultivate seed potatoes free of pathogens for 10 hectares farmland, thus completely solving the problem of seed-quality degradation. This technology has changed the production mode of potato cultivation, saving a large amount of breeding area and seed potatoes.
Super Sweet Maize
"Huatianyu 1" is a high-quality, early-maturing and high-yielding super sweet maize single-cross hybrid and was selected and bred for 8 years by two generations of maize breeders of HZAU using high-quality maize germplasms from home and abroad. Between 2000 and 2001, "Huatianyu 1" respectively grown in East China and Southeast China Special Maize Regional Trials sites which exhibited early maturity, excellent appearance and good taste. It passed the state-level verification in 2003, and became one of the first domestic new varieties of super sweet Maize verified by the state.
Transgenic Tomato
The transgenic tomato with prolonged shelf life bred by Professor Ye Zhibiao – "Huafan 1" is the first new variety of genetically modified crops approved by the Ministry of Agriculture to enter commercial production in China and won the first prize of Hubei Provincial Scientific and Technological Progress Award in 2002. This variety was produced by using the ACO genes cloned from tomatoes and transferring them into tomatoes with anti-sense construction technology so as to produce a transgenic tomato germplasm with long shelf life quality. A new generation of hybrid varieties characteristic of prolonged shelf life was thus bred with the new breeding techniques in combination with the conventional ones.
High-yielding and Multi-resistant Hybrid Cotton
The new cotton varieties developed by the research team led by Professor Zhang Xianlong, using modern biotechnology tools and methods, feature easy growth, early maturity, no premature aging, smooth boll opening, good fiber, high yield, anti-blight, anti-yellow wilt disease and good insect resistance. 3 varieties of hybrid cotton have passed the variety verification by Hubei, Jiangxi and Henan provinces. Another hybrid combination is ranking first in national regional trials, which is expected to be popularized widely and achieve good social and economic benefits.
Biodiesel
After more than 10 years of research, the Biomass Energy Research Center of HZAU created the technology and production line for direct conversion of rapeseed into biodiesel - extract oil directly from rapeseed with a specific solvent and then transform the oil into biodiesel with relevant technology. This production process brings broader source of raw material, simpler production process, much lower production costs, and less secondary pollution to biodiesel production. Furthermore, protein concentrate can be extracted from meal after biodiesel production and reclaim phytic acid, rapeseed polysaccharides, rapeseed polyphenols from the liquid waste after protein concentrate extraction, resulting in a significant increase in enterprise income, as well as remarkable economic and environmental benefits.