CHINA – Origin Agritech Ltd., a prominent agricultural technology company in China, has made waves in the agricultural industry with the announcement of a significant breakthrough in corn production technology.
On March 20, the Beijing-based company revealed the successful development of a high-yield corn inbred line, achieved through precise gene-editing techniques.
Amid the Chinese government’s emphasis on enhancing self-sufficiency in grains and oilseeds, Origin Agritech’s breakthrough comes as a timely innovation to bolster domestic agricultural productivity.
The newly developed gene-edited corn inbred line has undergone two years of rigorous multilocational field trials, demonstrating an astounding yield increase of over 50% compared to the original line.
Dr. Gengchen Han, Chairman and CEO of Origin Agritech, hailed this achievement as a transformative milestone in corn production, emphasizing its potential to address the escalating global demand for food while ensuring sustainability.
“The significant increase in yield potential heralds a new era in corn production, offering a sustainable solution to meet the growing global demand for food,” said Dr. Gengchen Han. “We believe that our gene-edited high-yield corn will play a crucial role in enhancing food security and sustainability worldwide.”
Origin Agritech is poised to accelerate the integration of this groundbreaking trait into its elite commercial corn line by the end of 2024. This integration is anticipated to not only enhance seed yield but also substantially reduce the cost of hybrid seed production, thereby revolutionizing the agricultural landscape.
In addition to its development efforts, Origin Agritech plans to conduct field demonstrations and seed production trials during the summer of 2024. These initiatives aim to showcase the technology’s performance and underscore its potential impact on the agriculture industry, solidifying the company’s position as an innovative leader in agricultural technology.
China’s burgeoning corn production sector is expected to reach a record high in the 2023-24 marketing year, with projections indicating a production volume of 288 million tonnes, according to the Foreign Agricultural Service of the US Department of Agriculture.
Despite this achievement, China remains reliant on corn imports to meet consumption demands, underscoring the significance of advancements such as those pioneered by Origin Agritech in bolstering domestic agricultural self-sufficiency.
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