Sanya Science and Technology Academy for Crop Winter Multiplication (STA)

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A. Introduction

Sanya belongs to tropical area, and is a “Natural Greenhouse”. Lots of crops can grow here all year round. Researchers utilize the tropical resources to accelerate the speed of crop breeding. From 1950s, many agencies (including institutes and companies) come here and engage in agriculture research and production from winter to the next spring, and some have established fixed crop breeding bases. This helps to bring about the formation of Chinese Off-Season Multiplication Base. “Off-Season Multiplication” has become a proper vocabulary for sanya. Annually in winter and spring, there are lots of agriculture specialists, technique achievements, varieties and relational information collected in Off-Season Multiplication Base, and these resources are transforming into an advantage, and promoting regional agriculture development.

For this background, several famous scientists suggested the government to establish a special institute for off-season multiplication in 1999. Then in 2000, Ministry of Science and Technology of China and Sanya City Government set up Sanya Science and Technology Academy for Crop Winter Multiplication (STA for short). Now STA has become an important platform for off-season multiplication and tropical high efficiency agriculture. It is the biggest agriculture institute in south Hainan. There are more than 40 research fellows and 8 departments. The departments are public open laboratory for off-season multiplication breeding, tropical facilities horticultural center, plant protection research center, flower and plant tissue culture center, soil testing and targeted fertilization and farm produces’ safety laboratory, farmers training school, training and demonstration base and station for agricultural technology service. In addition, STA has three crop breeding experimental stations totaled nearly 70 hectares for crop winter multiplication and agro-technique exhibition.

B. Main Scientific Researches and Achievements

I. Research Service and Support for Off-Season Multiplication

Off-season multiplication is an important distinguishing feature of Hainan. According to statistics, in the past 50 years, the area of off-season multiplication has been about 200,000 hectares. The main crops are rice, corn, cotton, rape, vegetables, melon, watermelon and so on. About 500,000 tons good seeds have been produced, and 90% promoted varieties (5,000 or so) in China are from Off-Season Multiplication Base.

In the past few years, STA has set up special service and support platforms for off-season multiplication research and production:

i. The Platform for Rice Breeding and Information Exchange

Rice is the main crop in off-season multiplication. More than 80% generalized rice varieties were bred through the off-season multiplication. Many rice scientists, such as Yuan Longping, the Father of Hybrid Rice, come and work here every year. So the information of rice varieties are very concentrated。The assembled researchers and information have become a typical regional advantage.

Using this advantage, STA engages in rice breeding, collecting rice varieties information and has set up an information exchange platform for rice. STA supplies other agencies rice varieties test and trial conditions, and realizes resource sharing to make them work effectively. STA has established fine co-operations with many other institutes, universities and scientists in rice research. And the network of on-farm trials and hybrid rice demonstration for China and some Southeast Asian countries has been built. The national on-the-spot meeting of hybrid rice arranged by STA in April every year has become an information exchange platform for domestic and international scientists in hybrid rice techniques. STA has built a hybrid rice website——Hybrid Rice Website (http://www.agrisci.com) inscribed by Chinese Academician Yuan Longping.

ii. The Platform for Corn and Cotton Off-season Breeding

Corn and Cotton are important crops in off-season breeding, and corn is one of the important cash crops of Hainan. In the past few years, STA and some other agencies have carried out co-operation in corn and cotton breeding field.

iii. The Platform for Melon and Vegetable Off-season Breeding

Melon and Vegetables are main off-season crops in Haina. And their off-season breeding has become an important research field of STA.

II. Crops Breeding

Rice, corn, cotton, melon, watermelon, vegetables and tropical orchid are main off-season multiplication and research crops. The breeding, demonstration and promotion of these crops have become main research fields of STA.

Through more than 7 years’ operation, STA has carried out many studies in rice field, such as super hybrid rice breeding, developing new rice germplasm, on-farm trials, new hybrid rice demonstration and so on. At present, STA has three quality rice varieties: Huhai537, Hailianyou I and Hailianyou II. And Huhai 537 has passed the provincial variety certification.

Melon is a major off-season crop in Hainan. The area of melon is about 33,000 hectares annually. On the basis of verification in field, STA has determined that three melon varieties (Hami-melon 9904, Jinmi6, Jinmi 10), two watermelon varieties (zaojia, Heimeiren) can grow well here and produces are of high-quality. Now these varieties are the main promotion and cultivation ones of Hainan region.

Vegetable breeding is an important research in STA. At present, STA has no own varieties in this field. STA is carrying out the breeding of cowpea, eggplant, emperor pepper, a unique hot pepper in Hainan, pumpkin, bitter gourd, mini cucumber and so on.

Tropical orchid will be the future development industry of Hainan. Its market has great potential. Currently STA is conducting tropical orchid tissue culture and relevant research. It has constructed a greenhouse of 950 square meters for orchid breeding, and collects more than 100 orchid germplasm materials.

III. Tropical Protected Horticulture Research

Primarily responsibilities of STA are breeding of tropical melons and vegetables, protected horticultural research, melons’ and vegetables’ application and promotion, and undertaking related research work.

The new production technology named “Hami melon Off-Season Pollution-Free Economic Facilities Shed Production Technology” has gained the first prize of Hainan Province Technological Production Transformation, and rewarded 120,000 RMB.

IV. Prevention and Cure of Plant Diseases and Pests

STA has carried out the research in crop pests’ control, including diseases identification and control technology; prevention and cure technology of plant diseases and pests; agricultural pesticide efficacy test and so on. In addition, STA has embarked on microbial resources’ investigation, and microorganisms’ isolation and identification.

C. Main Tasks and Projects

I. Building Hainan Research and Development (R&D) Base, and undertaking National High-Tech R&D Program

II. Building Chinese Sanya Agro-Science City

III. New varieties’ trial and demonstration of Chinese hybrid rice

IV. Developing new germplasms and approaching rice breeding study

V. Trial research platform of off-season multiplication crops

VI. Researching and developing facilities and relative technology for tropical pollution-free cultivation of melons and vegetables

VII. Technical demonstration and necessary production technique promotion of tropical off-season Hami-melon

VIII. Studying the isolation technique of crop varieties’ breeding in off-season breeding

IX. Demonstrating and promoting tropical economic facilities shed technique for off-season melon

X. Researching and developing information database for agriculture off-season multiplication

XI. Demonstrating and promoting the big-fruit watermelon variety——Heimeiren

XII. Researching and demonstrating standardized technology of watermelon protected cultivation

XIII. Building standardized breeding base for tropical orchid