Planting rice in a desert greenhouse! How do Chinese scientists accomplish the "impossible mission"?

What can be grown in the desert?

Cacti, saxaul, watermelon, potatoes... These plants or crops are no longer a rare combination with deserts. However, growing rice in the desert may seem like a fantasy to many people, right?

However, this "impossible task" has been achieved first by Chinese scientists.

Recently, a research team from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences successfully trial-planted rapid rice breeding in a desert greenhouse in Hotan, Xinjiang.

Source: CCTV News

It only takes 60 days from planting to harvest.

Why can the rice growth cycle here be greatly shortened?

In my country, the average growth period of rice planted in the north and south is 120 to 150 days. However, the rapid breeding of rice in the desert greenhouse has shortened the growth period by nearly half.

The Hotan region has vast deserts with excellent light and heat resources, which are conducive to improving crop quality. It is an ideal place to conduct research on the use of non-arable land in facility agriculture.

The light and heat resources for rice can be well met during the day, but rice needs to be "light-supplemented" at night. That is, by setting up LED lights and continuously adjusting the light formula, combined with precise light supplement measures, the breeding cycle of rice itself can be quickly shortened.

The research team of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences used precisely formulated nutrient solution to replace soil for cultivation in Hotan, and then carried out light and temperature control intervention on rice through multi-spectrum LED (light-emitting diode) light source and environmental control technology. The vertical soilless cultivation technology, under the artificial light source intelligent LED supplementary lighting, provides crops with good light, temperature, water, air, fertilizer and other production conditions. At the same time, it also reduces land occupation and can greatly reduce the occurrence of pests and diseases.

After more than two years of experiments, the team finally overcame the key difficulty of rapid rice growth under desert greenhouse conditions.

Originated in China more than 10,000 years ago

my country is the first country in the world to cultivate rice

In the 1990s, archaeological experts found rice phytoliths in the Xianren Cave and Diaobenghuan sites in Wannian County, Jiangxi Province, and discovered that rice was domesticated from wild to cultivated about 12,000 years ago. In other words, the ancient people here 12,000 years ago may have been the first people in the world to eat rice!

Rice, which originated in China, feeds more than half of the world's population today. From the ground to space, from fertile fields to deserts, from Yuan Longping's super rice repeatedly setting new records to the Chinese space station conducting rice experiments in orbit, generations of Chinese scientists have continued to delve into rice research.

At present, the research team has explored key technologies for rapid breeding of staple crops such as soybeans, corn, wheat, and rapeseed, cotton, and alfalfa in the desert greenhouse in Hotan. Researchers expect that in the future, they can also explore the efficient production of food crops in the Gobi Desert. Through the application of desert greenhouses and new technologies, they can achieve efficient production of food crops and solve food security issues.

What is the application prospect of greenhouse rapid propagation of rice?

It is understood that the current greenhouses in various parts of my country have lower costs than those in developed countries, but the overall scale of each building is small, which is not conducive to mechanized production. Reducing the cost of plant factories or desert greenhouses is still the primary problem to be solved by scientific researchers and industrial development.

Yang Qichang, chief scientist of the Institute of Urban Agriculture of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, introduced that in the future, this kind of greenhouse can be combined with new energy, as well as mechanization, equipment and intelligent technology, and its construction and operating costs will be greatly reduced. This kind of greenhouse will be very competitive internationally.

Comprehensive sources: Xinhuanet, CCTV News, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hotan Daily, etc.