STORY: Faces of China: Digital tech helps with vegetable breeding in China's Fuzhou
DATELINE: Jan. 31, 2025
LENGTH: 00:01:58
LOCATION: FUZHOU, China
CATEGORY: TECHNOLOGY/AGRICULTURE

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the vegetable breeding base
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): CHEN XIUJUAN, Director of Fuzhou Vegetable Science Research Institute
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): WANG YANNA, Agronomist, Fuzhou Vegetable Science Research Institute
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): CHEN XIUJUAN, Director of Fuzhou Vegetable Science Research Institute

STORYLINE:

Chen Xiujuan, an agronomist from China's Fuzhou, has led a team in studying vegetable breeding.

She aspires to advance vegetable breeding through digital technology, bringing prosperity to farmers and offering high-quality varieties.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): CHEN XIUJUAN, Director of Fuzhou Vegetable Science Research Institute
"In the 1990s, Fuzhou's self-sufficiency in leafy vegetables was relatively low. Through over three decades of development, vegetable varieties have been significantly enriched.
We have two goals for vegetable breeding. First, to achieve high quality and high yield, and second, to enhance quality by transforming vegetables with more fruit-like characteristics. The tomatoes we are currently researching are being bred in that direction. We have launched a project, which is a digital breeding platform, aiming to shorten the breeding cycle and improve the efficiency of vegetable breeding."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): WANG YANNA, Agronomist, Fuzhou Vegetable Science Research Institute
"The digital breeding platform includes several modules, the most important of which is the digital breeding one. We have uploaded all the varieties we are currently researching onto this platform. The breeding combinations for each year are clearly shown on this platform, allowing us to classify them more effectively. With the application of digital technology, we can more quickly understand the differences between germplasm resources and accelerate the seed selection process."

SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): CHEN XIUJUAN, Director of Fuzhou Vegetable Science Research Institute
"The imported seeds are very expensive. One seed is often sold at several yuan. Our goal is to replace some of the imported vegetable varieties and solve the bottleneck issue in our seed industry. The logo of our institute resembles a cabbage held in hands, which symbolizes abundant wealth. We hope to bring wealth to the people, enable the farmers to achieve prosperity, and provide citizens with more and better higher-quality vegetable varieties."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Fuzhou, China.
(XHTV)