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Archives
Feb. 1-28, 2004
Reaping benefits from
China's Nongda 108
by Rita T. dela
Cruz
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| A matured Nongda 108 developed
by Prof. Xu Quifeng of China Agricultural University |
For years, China has been producing new
varieties of corn to increase production and improve
the quality of their seed materials that can be readily
available for its corn farming needs. Being the second
corn producer in the world, generating 110 billion kilograms
of corn per year, it has to answer the growing demands
of the corn industry both as staple food and main feed
ingredient for livestock.
One latest addition to China’s
line of high-yielding corn varieties is the Nongda 108,
developed by Professor Xu Qifeng of the China Agricultural
University. It is a product of a 20-year study and genetic
breeding of different corn types.
According to Prof. Xu Qifeng, Nongda
108 is a combination of Chinese and foreign strains
from temperate and tropical zones, a mix of pre-maturing
and late-maturing self-fertilizations, and that of ordinary
breeds and fine-quality protein breeds. The combinations
within Nongda 108 break the genetic limit for normal
crossbreeding.
Features
of Nongda 108
The newly developed Nongda 108 has almost (all) the
good qualities of a corn plant that could adapt even
to the worst type of weather. It has high and stable
yield, a tight plant, well-grown root, and high chlorophyll-content.
It has high resistance to pests and diseases,
a good adaptability to extreme conditions, fine quality
of produce, and easy to breed. It can produce from 550
to 625 kilograms per mu (one mu is equal to 0.067 hectares),
which is an increase of 28.4 percent over other varieties
of corn plants.
Nongda 108 is also nutritious. The protein,
starch, and lysine-content meet the national standards
for fine-quality products, and its lysine is higher
than that of ordinary crossbreds.
What the
results say
Nongda 108 was first tested in 1998 and is now being
planted at an average of 10 million mu per year. Today,
it is planted on more than 120 million mu with an increase
of six billion kilograms of corn.
According to the Research Institute of
Agriculture and Economy under the Chinese Academy of
Agricultural Sciences, the output value of Nongda 108
from 1998 to 2001 had accumulated to 3.2 billion yuan,
and that from 2002 to 2003 it had estimated a total
of 2.72 billion yuan. This means that the annual average
increase of the output value of Nongda 108 is 986 million
yuan.
With Nongda 108, scientists are able
to expand the genetic base of corn and introduce foreign
breeds and improve the latest breeding techniques. It
opens new possibilities in self-fertilization and crossbreeding.
With the development of Nongda 108, China has stepped
up the achievements of other sectors agriculture, particularly
the livestock and poultry industry.
February 1-28 2004 Articles:
:: S&T
in agriculture is strategy for hunger-free Philippines-FAO
::
Nat'l
convergence team consults with 3 major islands
::
Sweet
Elena is identified as best mango variety
::
Farmer's
Field Day showcases hybrid corn technologies
::
DEBESMSCAT
hosts Bicol's first white research corn review
::
She
holds her own bright light
::
I
say, Mindanao is exciting
::
Lessons
from a peri-urban agri project
::
Makapuno
industry: A goldmine overlooked
::
Reaping
benefits from China's Nongda 108
::
The
silent giant in tomato land
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