Yunnan: Maize Introduces Wisdom Results to Benefit Farmers

“It is estimated that the output per acre will be around 670 kilograms this year, which is more than 100 kilograms per mu from the previous year. 30 acres will overtake more than 3,000 kilograms.” said Liao Zhifu, a peasant in Pingyuan Town, Jishan County, Yunnan Province, in the Cornfield.

This is a microcosm of the results of the introduction of wisdom in Yunnan corn. As a high-quality special corn breeding demonstration and promotion base for the country to introduce foreign intelligence achievements, the Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences Food Crops Research Institute has made full use of foreign intelligence achievements to select high-quality, high-yield corn hybrids, and gradually expanded the planting area, played a demonstration and extension role, and relied on scientific and technological advantages. To increase the income of farmers and achieve safe food production, only the high-yielding cultivation technology demonstration zone for corn in Pingyuan Town, Bishan County exceeded 12,000 mu.

Maize is the largest food crop in Yunnan Province and its annual planting area is about 20 million mu. After being approved as a high-quality special maize breeding demonstration and promotion base for the country to introduce foreign intelligence achievements in 2006, the Food Crops Research Institute of the Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences successively undertook the major project of cultivating new varieties of genetically modified organisms and the “948” project of the Ministry of Agriculture and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The project, Yunnan Province's "Eleventh Five-Year" major scientific and technological research projects, and participate in a number of related projects, and established a good cooperative relationship with a number of international scientific research institutions and well-known scientists.

“Utilizing the platform provided by the introduction of the ChiZi base, we have invited foreign experts with high professional level that are urgently needed by the province’s corn for scientific research and production to provide technical guidance and bring in excellent germplasm to effectively solve the problems in corn research and production. Major issues have brought into play the role of attracting intellectual bases to the maximum extent,” said Dr. Fan Xingming, a corn expert and director of the Yunnan Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences' Grain Crops Research Institute.

According to reports, through the implementation of the introduction of intellectual projects, since the year 2000, the Institute of Food Crops has grown more than 20 provincial-level certified varieties, including high-quality fresh corn, sweet wolfberry 888, Yuntianyu 1 (multicolor sweet corn), Yunyou 21, etc. The six varieties were protected by the national new plant variety protection rights. The high-quality corn hybrid Yunrui 21 is the first high-oil and high-starch corn variety in the world; the high-quality corn hybrid variety Yunrui 1 is currently the only hard spot resistant to gray spot disease in China. Endosperm quality protein corn varieties.

As of 2010, the Food Crops Research Institute has cumulatively demonstrated and promoted more than 10 million mu of high-quality special maize varieties in Yunnan Province and its neighboring provinces and Southeast Asian countries. These new corn varieties have increased production compared with the main push varieties, which has effectively promoted the increase in production and income of farmers. Farmers in poverty-stricken areas are getting out of poverty. “These high-quality corn not only has high yield, but also has good quality and high nutritional value, can improve the dietary nutrition structure of the local people and promote the development of animal husbandry, and has significant social benefits,” said Fan Xingming.