中国·福州——热爱城市从热爱美食开始

　　Workers were busy transplanting the corn seedlings.

It’s that time of year again for spring planting. Recently, at Mawei Langqi Seed Base, technicians and workers have been busy sowing corn and transplanting in the fields.

At the new variety demonstration and evaluation base of the Fujian Seed Industry Innovation Center (Langqi), trays of vibrant green and glossy corn seedlings are being moved from the greenhouse to the field, where they’re carefully planted. These seedlings were transplanted in early April. The tasting and harvesting are scheduled to begin in mid-to-late June.

“By then, it will not only provide vital data support for corn variety assessment in Fujian Province but also create a specialized platform for selecting varieties based on seedlings. This will allow industry professionals to visually identify high-quality varieties and promote innovation and upgrades in the seed industry,” said Chen Jinghe, a planting technician at the base. This year, the base has planted over 200 new corn varieties, including 40 green, high-quality, high-yield varieties that have been approved in Fujian Province in recent years.

This spring, Wannong High-tech Group (Langqi) Demonstration Base has expanded its planting area. Workers are planting corn seeds directly into the soil one by one. In other sections of the base, many corn seedlings have already been transplanted. Some of these corn varieties are sourced from all over the country and even around the world, while others are superior varieties that have been carefully selected and refined over the years. Under the guidance of researchers, they are now being crossbred and further developed through specific breeding programs.

It is reported that the experimental fields of Wannong High-tech are mainly divided into parent propagation fields, variety demonstration fields, combination testing fields, joint experiment fields, and seed production fields. The base can plant crops twice a year, in both spring and autumn. Each year, over 10,000 hybrid combinations are grown. After several rounds of evaluation, two to three hundred top-performing combinations are selected and sent to different regions across the country for adaptability evaluation. From these, dozens of superior combinations are chosen to undergo national and provincial-level assessment. Currently, the “Huangbainuo” corn variety developed at the base has received high praise.

As the core hub for the revitalization of Fujian’s seed industry, Langqi is harnessing innovation to propel its development, fostering deeper collaboration among industry, academia, and research institutions. It strives to establish an innovation ecosystem for the seed industry. With the collaborative model of “think tank + research institutions + leading enterprises,” the base is focused on developing breakthrough varieties that are disease-resistant, high-quality, and highly adaptable to the market. It aims to build a full-chain incubation system that spans from the laboratory to the fields, accelerating the practical application of scientific research results in the seed industry. (Fuzhou Evening News Reporter: Ma Liqing, Correspondent: Chen Xiaojing, Text/Photo)