High-quality soybean strains on display

CHANGCHUN — With access to fast-developing breeding technology, Chinese biotech firms are keen on cultivating new strains of high-quality soybeans to cope with the country's strong market demand, according to sources following a recent national meeting.

A collection of newly developed high-oil and high-yield soybean varieties were showcased at the meeting held in Northeast China's Jilin province on Sept 13. The meeting focused on national major scientific and technological achievements in agricultural biotechnology breeding.

All the new strains displayed at the meeting in Jilin boast oil content above 22 percent and yields more than 8 percent higher than strains currently planted.

With support from a national program aimed at encouraging agricultural biotechnology breeding, research institutes and seed enterprises have joined efforts in introducing state-of-the-art technology in soybean breeding — such as polygene polymerization and molecular marker selection. Beijing Dabeinong Biotechnology presented the company's new variety named Maiyu 511 at the meeting, which is proven to be suitable for spring planting in China's northern regions and which offers an oil content of 23.69 percent — exceeding the average oil content of imported soybeans.

Shao Liangliang, a grain grower in Lishu county, Jilin, was among the farmers who tried the new strain this year. He planted the soybean seeds in a 3.6-hectare field — with the crop almost ready for harvest. "This new variety saved me nearly 100 yuan ($14) per hectare in growing costs," Shao said.

Xinhua