Yazhou Bay National Laboratory to open Guiyang test base

The co-construction agreement for the Yazhou Bay National Laboratory Guiyang Grain and Oil Crop Test Base was signed on Nov 15 in Guiyang, capital of Southwest China's Guizhou province. This marks the establishment of the laboratory's first grain and oil test base in Southwest China.

The signing ceremony between the Yazhou Bay National Laboratory and the Guizhou Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on Nov 15. [Photo/Dongjing News]

The base will drive innovation in germplasm resources, key gene discovery and utilization, efficient breeding systems, new variety breeding, demonstration, promotion, and education.

It aims to utilize the laboratory's leading advantages in key biological breeding technologies and precise cultivation of core germplasm resources, combined with Guizhou's ecological, resource, and computational advantages.

The base will initially focus on corn, rapeseed, and wheat but later expand to other species. Gao Jie, director of the Seed Industry Management Office of the Guizhou Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, hopes that through collaboration with Yajiao Bay, Guizhou's corn breeding will progress from 2.0 to 4.0, matching global breeding standards. The team also hopes to address breeding gaps, particularly in brewing wheat.

Yazhou Bay National Laboratory in Sanya, Hainan province, has assembled leading experts and founded 10 research teams focusing on critical agricultural challenges. Its work aims to ensure national food, ecological, and industrial security.