New Plant Breeding Accelerator Science Super Center Opens in China

The construction of the Crop Breeding Accelerator project, located in Beijing, began in July 2024 and was completed in September 2024. The facility is currently in the trial operation stage. The high-tech greenhouse, implemented by Kingpeng, is capable of supporting the breeding of various crops, including wheat, rice, corn, soybeans, mung bean and lettuce.

The project covers more than 10,000 square meters of greenhouses for propagation. The project is called the “Propagation Accelerator” because it creates the necessary environmental conditions for plant growth, including ventilation, temperature, light, water, oxygen and so on, writes Arlette Sijmonsma on HortiDaily.com.

“We imitate natural phenomena and at the same time innovate where nature fails,” said the project manager. “The greenhouse environment allows plants to engage in complete photosynthesis. For example, in terms of light, the highest duration of artificial lighting for wheat in China is 22 hours per day. In contrast, during the northern winter, natural sunlight only provides 8 hours of daily light; therefore, 22 hours of artificial lighting in a greenhouse is equivalent to about three days of natural sunlight.”

More than 50% of sunlight is infrared radiation, which only generates heat and does not support plant photosynthesis. “We use dynamic lighting to select the exact spectrum of light needed by plants for photosynthesis, improving their growth rate and quality for high-quality breeding,” said the project manager.

The crop growing area is equipped with energy screens, insulation, air circulation, cooling, humidification and drip irrigation, creating ideal conditions for crop growth.

It is noted that the complex is well suited for iterative selection of breeding materials, rapid improvement of individual traits in developed varieties and rapid integration of biological breeding traits. “Looking forward, we will continue to advocate for intelligent, sustainable and digital advances in agriculture, striving to become a world-class provider of integrated solutions for modern agricultural enterprises,” the project participants emphasized.

Earlier, experts estimated the growth of the agricultural biotechnology market by 2031 at $214.6 billion, an increase of more than two times is predicted, with an average annual growth rate of 8.8%.

Tags: corn, rice, soybean, wheat