by PressChina wants to breed new varieties of corn in space conditions
China counts on new varieties of corn
Chinese scientists intend to develop new varieties of corn — and for this purpose, they sent them into space. At the end of 2022, the country launched the Shenzhou XV ship, which carried 400 grains of the crop. The latter will be used for research purposes, they will be the basis for the development of new varieties that can survive in space.
The corn for the experiment was presented by the Agricultural Academy of Liaocheng City. This institution was founded in 1959 and has been involved in agricultural plant breeding ever since. The selected grains belong to the same variety, which is highly productive and has good genetic characteristics. This type of corn was created by selecting seeds of corn grown in the southern and northern regions of China.
The main goal of the experiment in space is to obtain a completely new genetic chain of corn, created under unusual conditions for the plant. Thus, scientists want to achieve the process of new DNA recombination through the implementation of mutagenesis. The latter is caused by cosmic radiation, a vacuum observed in space.
It should be noted that a similar experiment has already been conducted in China in 2019 when corn and wheat seeds were delivered into orbit. Then, thanks to the process of hybridization and haploid analysis, new crop varieties were obtained.
The development of new crop varieties is one of the points of the Chinese government’s ambitious strategy to increase food independence. In addition, the authorities intend to increase attention to the GM crop sector. It is planned to start selling genetically modified corn in 2023 while the varieties are being tested. In all, the supervisory authority is considering the use of 18 types of corn, while 20 varieties are being tested. GM grain will be produced and sold separately from those produced by selective breeding, it will have special packaging.
Over the past 5 years, the share of imported soybeans in China was about 86% of total consumption and corn — 4%. At the same time, the purchase of the latter has increased since 2020. Experts hope that increased production of their own crops will reduce dependence on supplies. And for this purpose, they plan to use highly productive and climate-resistant varieties of corn. Now institutes all over the country are working on the creation of new types of grain, which can give high yields in different regions of the country.
One option for increasing production is the use of GM varieties, and there is still some controversy around the world over the use of such grains for human consumption. China, too, has not yet made an unambiguous decision, but there is talk about it at the state level.