Tomato Seed's Space Travel
2024-04-16
Recently, while conducting research and interviews in Shan County, Heze City, Shandong Province, reporters noticed that a batch of tomato seedlings attracted many onlookers because the seeds of these seedlings had undergone a 5-month space travel. They are expected to bloom and bear fruit in just over 50 days. Danxian is the hometown of tomatoes, with a long history of tomato cultivation, excellent quality, and delicious taste, which is very popular in the market. Since 1987, 72 tomato varieties have been developed locally, of which 26 have been registered and certified by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. In 2014, in order to expand and strengthen the tomato industry, the Shan County Science and Technology Association led the establishment of the Shan County Tomato Association, and promoted the association's technical training, intensive seedling cultivation, and breeding work through funding and project support. "I hope everyone can unite and work together," Zhang Hui, Vice Chairman of the Shan County Association for Science and Technology, told reporters. "Farmer Ren Sidang was invited to serve as the president of the Tomato Association in Shan County. He is not only a major tomato grower, but also very enthusiastic about breeding and science popularization. He has independently cultivated multiple tomato varieties and is a well-known tomato planting expert in Shan County," said Zhang Hui. As of now, the Single County Tomato Association has attracted more than 106 members, radiating to more than 2000 surrounding farmers, and the tomato planting area has reached over 5000 acres. "After joining the association, farmers can increase their income per acre of tomatoes by 20000 to 50000 yuan," said Ren Sidang happily. Liu Aifang, a farmer from Shan County, said, "Under the guidance of the Shan County Association for Science and Technology and the Shan County Tomato Association, I learned how to plant scientifically and harvested high-yield and high-quality tomatoes." The seeds are known as the "chips" of agriculture. "To further increase farmers' income, enhance the popularity of tomatoes in Shan County, and develop higher quality seeds is a necessary path." Zhang Hui told a reporter from Science and Technology Daily that the then Chairman of the Shan County Association for Science and Technology had the idea of sending tomato seeds into space after learning about the open space breeding experiment project. "Special environmental factors such as weightlessness radiation in space may induce seed gene mutations. We hope to use space breeding experiments to obtain more mutated new materials and promote the rapid development of tomato breeding." Zhang Hui recalled, "Therefore, the Shan County Science and Technology Association brainstormed, and as long as relevant experts come to Shan County, we will propose ideas and needs to promote the development of tomato breeding." The turning point occurred during a science popularization lecture activity. At that time, the brand science popularization activity "Shan County Scientists Lecture Hall" created by Shan County Association for Science and Technology welcomed a guest - Shi Lei, deputy head of the old science popularization speech group of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Through Shi Lei's matchmaking efforts, the Single County Tomato Association successfully connected with the Aerospace Breeding Industry Innovation Alliance. After submitting the materials and accepting expert review, the Single County Tomato Association successfully won the opportunity to conduct space breeding experiments. "Without diamond, we can't do porcelain work. We have the advantage of tomato breeding, so we have the confidence to send seeds into space," said Zhang Hui. On May 30, 2023, two tomato breeding materials "56-68" and "56-79" selected by the Danxian Tomato Association, totaling 7000 seeds, were launched into space aboard the Shenzhou 16 manned spacecraft. Five months later, the precious seeds that completed the space breeding experiment returned smoothly. On January 3, 2024, the People's Government of Shan County held a new tomato aerospace breeding meeting
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