China is about to plant hybrid seeds in space

About 12,000 seeds brought back to Earth by the Shenzhou spacecraft from the Tiangong space station will be planted for research and breeding purposes.

After a record six-month mission to the Tiangong space station, China's Shenzhou spacecraft landed safely in Inner Mongolia autonomous region on April 16. In addition to the three astronauts, the flight also brought 73 kg of items back to Earth, including 12,000 seeds of rice, oats, edible mushrooms, green vegetables, herbs and raw foods for livestock such as alfalfa and clover.

An item box is taken out of the Shenzhou after returning to Earth.

According to the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the space environment with radiation and microgravity helps to mutate the seeds' genes to create more superior varieties. This will add new sources of germplasm and ensure national food security.

The seeds on the spacecraft have been carefully selected to ensure they can germinate normally when returned to Earth.

"According to the breeding goal, we have carefully selected seeds that are expected to be high-grade, rich in protein and able to resist poor environmental conditions," said expert Yang Hongshan from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Quoc said. "The time it takes for a space seed to grow on farmland and grow into a new variety is different. It takes more than 10 years to breed a new alfalfa variety, while oat plants have a shorter life cycle from two to three years".

The alfalfa varieties brought back by Shenzhou are planned to undergo field trials this year or next. High yield and protein alfalfa, with its ability to survive in diverse environmental conditions, is important to China's livestock industry and food security. The East Asian country needs up to 6 million tons of alfalfa for animal feed each year, and now a third is imported.

Since starting to breed space seeds in 1987, China has successfully planted about 260 new plant varieties including rice, soybeans and vegetables on 2.4 million hectares of land. It is estimated that space propagation has directly generated economic benefits worth 200 billion yuan, or $29.8 billion.