The first Cotton Science College in China was established

The Cotton Science College, jointly established by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Tarim University, was unveiled in Alar, Xinjiang Autonomous region, on August 24. This is the first professional science college in China that integrates cotton discipline construction, personnel training and scientific research service. The college will "base itself on southern Xinjiang and face Central Asia" to explore the efficient utilization model of cotton resources for sustainable and prosperous development, and set up an omni-directional innovation platform for cotton development.

Cotton is an important economic crop and textile raw material in China. The cotton industry involves the income of hundreds of millions of cotton farmers and the employment of more than 20 million textile workers, which plays an important role in the development of our national economy. As the largest cotton production area in China, Xinjiang has ranked first in cotton planting area, per unit yield and total output in the country for 20 years in a row. Xinjiang's total cotton output has exceeded 50% of the country's total cotton production, and about 50% of the farmers in Xinjiang are engaged in cotton production. The level of cotton industry plays an important role in increasing local farmers' income and adjusting the planting structure. According to reports, the establishment of the Cotton Science College is not only a major scientific and technological demand for the restructuring and transformation of the national cotton development strategy, but also a major industrial demand for the development of the "Silk Road Economic Belt" to achieve "technology export and raw cotton introduction." the college will be built into a cotton industry highland, discipline research center, and scientific and technological innovation center.

Combining the advantages of science and technology and talents of the Cotton Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the regional and resource advantages of Tarim University, the College of Cotton Science has set up five cotton scientific and technological innovation teams and set up three major subject areas. including cotton germplasm resources innovation and new variety breeding, light simplified cotton planting technology and cotton field ecosystem protection, focusing on breeding and popularizing excellent cotton varieties suitable for planting in southern Xinjiang. Set up a display base for introduction experiment, improved variety cultivation and high-yield cultivation Demonstrate new cotton varieties, new technologies, new equipment and new ideas, lay the foundation for promoting the development of cotton industry in southern Xinjiang, and train a group of cotton scientific and technological personnel, managers and technicians for southern Xinjiang and even the whole Xinjiang and Central Asia, build a cotton technology demonstration, training and promotion platform, speed up the breeding process, strengthen demonstration and popularization, promote the rapid and sustainable development of cotton industry in southern Xinjiang, and improve the overall cotton production capacity of Xinjiang and even China.