On May 9th, the 5th National Wild Rice Conference opened in Guangzhou. Academician Liu Xu and Wan Jianmin from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, as well as Academicians Xie Hua'an and Liu Yaoguang from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, attended the opening ceremony. Wan Jianmin, Xie Hua'an, and Liu Yaoguang delivered keynote speeches on topics including rice hybrid sterility, seed industry innovation and food security, and wild abortive restoration genes.
The conference venue. Provided by Zou Wenping.
The conference, hosted by the Crop Science Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, aims to gather experts from across the country to discuss and explore strategies for the conservation and utilization of wild rice germplasm resources. This initiative seeks to provide scientific basis for the better preservation and utilization of China's wild rice resources, further enhancing China's position and influence in global agricultural genetic resources conservation efforts.
At the opening ceremony, Wu Yaling, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, briefly introduced the institute's achievements in germplasm resource conservation and utilization, as well as seed industry technological innovation. She hoped that experts and scholars could exchange ideas during the conference, share achievements, discuss development, and jointly carry out in-depth evaluation and utilization of rice germplasm resources and biological breeding research to support food security through technological advancements.
He Guowei, Deputy Inspector of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, emphasized that wild rice scientists should take this conference as an opportunity to continue their efforts in the conservation and utilization of wild rice resources, making new contributions to the revitalization of the seed industry and ensuring national food security.
It was noted that wild rice is an important strategic resource for rice breeding and genetic improvement. Germplasm resources are the "core" of agriculture and the source of seed industry innovation. Guangdong is one of the earliest provinces in China to collect and innovate the use of germplasm resources. The Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and Government have always attached great importance to the development of the seed industry, steadfastly supporting the collection, preservation, and innovative use of germplasm resources.
On-site, Liu Xuxi encouraged wild rice scientists to uphold the spirit of scientific research of their predecessors, work diligently, and strive to protect China's precious wild rice resources while fully leveraging the genetic advantages of wild rice to further shine in the development of the rice industry and rice breeding.
Wan Jianmin also stated that young scientists should make full use of modern biotechnology, big data information technology, and other tools to conduct in-depth research on wild rice, expanding the research field, breadth, and depth of wild rice to make greater contributions to genetic breeding of rice.
Cao Yongsheng, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, proposed suggestions for the next steps in wild rice germplasm resource work: conducting high-volume collection, high-quality protection, high-precision identification, high-level research, efficient innovation, and utilization.
It is worth mentioning that the Rice Research Institute of the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences has been committed to the collection, preservation, evaluation, and innovative use of crop germplasm resources. They have collected and preserved 19,738 domestic and foreign cultivated rice resources and 5,210 wild rice resources. At the same time, they have developed over 40 varieties that have been planted on more than 10 million mu of land, creating the phenomenon of "Chinese indica rice, Guangdong seed core" in the rice industry.
