Space breeding creates nearly 1,000 new seeds to ensure food security

With the return of the crew of China’s spacecraft Shenzhou- 13, a total of 12,000 seeds finished their space breeding journey, which is expected to enhance food security, as seeds are as important as chips in the semiconductor industry.

Seeds of clover, oats, rice, edible mushrooms and cabbage were carried by the Shenzhou- 13 into space and brought back to Earth on April 16, after 183 days in space.

It has been 35 years since China’s first space seed breeding effort in 1987, and nearly 1,000 new species have been created, of which 200 have displayed outstanding performances, according to media reports.

Space seed breeding uses cosmic radiation to mutate the genes of seeds sent into space, in order to create new species for greater variety.

China’s space seed project has bred lots of vegetable and fruit species, including such common items as apples, Li Guoxiang, a researcher at the Rural Development Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

China’s space seed breeding has made a great contribution to the country’s food security and environmental protection.

Currently, the area under cultivation for grains, vegetables, fruits and other plants developed by space seed breeding has surpassed 2.4 million hectares, and generated economic benefits of over 200 billion yuan ($ 30.51 billion), media reported.

“China has to import 1.3 million to 1.5 million tons of clover each year. Clover seeds from space may accelerate Chinese clover species breeding and ensure the development of this ‘ chip’ in agriculture,” said Wang Tao, professor at China Agricultural University.

“There are only a few countries in the world with mature aerospace technology, and China’s level of space seed breeding technology is at the world- class level,” Li said.