A group of scientists from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) recently announced the success of a trial planting to halve the growth cycle of a conventional rice variety in a desert greenhouse in Hotan, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

“We started the breeding in February this year. Supported by soilless farming, it took just 60 days for the rice seedlings to harvest,” said Wang Sen, a researcher with the CAAS’s Institute of Urban Agriculture (IUA).

China is the first country in the world to cultivate rice. With ordinary farming practices, it usually takes 120 to 150 days on average for rice to mature in China’s major rice-growing areas.

Why can the growth cycle of rice be significantly reduced in desert greenhouses of Hotan?

In 2021, Yang Qichang, chief scientist with the IUA, and his team successfully cut the growth cycle of rice by half in a plant factory in Chengdu, southwest China’s Sichuan province. They also achieved a technological breakthrough that allows rice to be cultivated throughout the year, without being limited by seasonal factors.

Published Date: May 23, 2024