Don't neglect the breeding of "minority crops"

How long does it take to breed a new crop variety? The older generation of breeders often tell me: breed one species every ten years. This is true, even if the traditional biological breeding techniques rely on southern propagation and generation, it will take breeders ten or eight years to select a satisfactory variety.

This problem seems to be relatively easy for a new generation of breeders. Relying on high-tech means such as molecular biotechnology, computer technology, and nanotechnology, the manpower, material resources, and time consumption of the screening process have been greatly reduced. It has become a reality to improve a variety or cultivate a new variety in three or five years.

However, whether it is southern propagation or biotechnology, most of these methods to speed up breeding are used in crop varieties with large acreage and high demand, such as field food crops, oil crops and widely edible popular vegetable crops. As for "minority crops", such as fruits, traditional Chinese medicine, regional vegetables, flowers and so on, their breeding can only rely on traditional breeding methods, and even some crops are unable to propagate in the south at all due to the limitations of planting conditions.

There was a rumor that once spread on the Internet, "Purple Potato is a genetically modified crop." for this reason, I consulted sweet potato breeders, and they said with regret that sweet potato crop breeding in China has not entered the genetic era at all. Traditional breeding techniques are still being used. Transgenic is too "difficult" for purple potato breeding.

Many fruit tree breeders are not great experts in universities or scientific research institutes, but ordinary farmers. they encounter difficulties in production and planting, solve difficulties, and thus cultivate many excellent varieties step by step. We should applaud these "native experts" and reverse the current situation of their breeding. High-tech and large-scale projects cannot turn a blind eye to "minority crops".

At present, the state is increasing its support to the seed industry, especially in improving the breeding innovation ability of the national seed industry, the strategic orientation and policy formulation are becoming more and more clear. However, most of these scientific research investments, financial support and support policies are aimed at major food crops, oil crops and popular vegetables, and there is very little support for the breeding of "minority crops".

"minority" does not mean that no one is eating, and "minority" does not mean that it is useless. "the masses" and "minority" crop breeding go hand in hand in order to make the people have enough to eat and eat well.