Scientists from the Chinese mainland announced a series of major breakthroughs in developing "precision-designed" seeds that promise to boost crop yields, cut fertilizer use, and enhance disease resistance, marking a milestone for food security and sustainable agriculture globally.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) unveiled the achievements of its Strategic Priority Research Program "Precision Seed Design and Breeding" at a press conference on Monday, December 22, 2025. Launched in November 2019, this flagship initiative has brought together experts from over 30 institutions to tackle excessive fertilizer use, frequent crop diseases, and limited arable land.
Over the past six years, the program has developed 37 pilot crop and livestock varieties, each tailored for superior traits. These varieties are now cultivated on nearly 14.48 million mu (about 965,000 hectares), delivering significant social and economic gains, according to Li Jiayang, CAS academician and chief scientist of the program.
Researchers have pinpointed key genes that govern high yield, nutrient efficiency, and resilience to pests, drought, and disease. For example, the OsTCP19 gene enables rice to maintain stable yields even when nitrogen fertilizer is cut by 20 to 30 percent. "This could help resolve the longstanding issue of excessive fertilizer use in mainland agriculture," said Chong Kang, CAS academician and researcher at the Institute of Botany.
In wheat research, scientists identified genes offering broad-spectrum resistance to powdery mildew and introduced a new variety named "Zhongke 166", which shows strong resistance to Fusarium head blight. "Zhongke 166" has been planted on nearly 1.5 million mu (about 100,000 hectares) and has cut pesticide usage, Chong added.
Beyond gene discovery, the team advanced breeding technology using a domestically developed genome-editing tool to create wheat lines that combine high yield with disease resistance—a combination once elusive through conventional methods. In 2024, the program secured the Chinese mainland's first biosafety certificate for a gene-edited staple crop, a landmark in agricultural regulation.
Another highlight is the rapid domestication of a wild rice species. By "reprogramming" this wild plant, researchers developed a new rice variety in a fraction of the time required by traditional breeding. "This achievement has drawn global attention as a breakthrough with potential to enhance food security worldwide," Li noted.
The program's impact extends beyond grains. Ten soybean varieties with higher yield and improved nutritional profiles aim to reduce the Chinese mainland's heavy dependence on soybean imports. In aquaculture, scientists introduced "Zhongke 6", a crucian carp that grows 25 percent faster, boasts high survival rates, and improves feed use efficiency by 20.1 percent. They also bred a boneless strain suitable for commercial farming.
Among the standout outcomes is the "Zhongkefa" rice series. "Zhongkefa 5" delivers yields more than 20 percent above popular local varieties in northeast regions of the Chinese mainland, thrives in saline-alkaline soils, and ranks among the top five conventional rice varieties by cultivation area. Meanwhile, "ZKFZG1" is the first early-season japonica rice designed for double-cropping systems, allowing farmers to bring new-season rice to market two to three months earlier than usual.
These advances signal a paradigm shift in the Chinese mainland's crop breeding—from experience-driven methods to precise, predictable molecular design. "Molecular design not only shortens breeding cycles but also enables crops to be tailored for enhanced nutrition, stress tolerance, or resource efficiency," Li explained.
As these innovations roll out, they are set to reinforce the Chinese mainland's food security, accelerate the move toward greener farming practices, and offer new solutions to global agricultural challenges.
Reference(s):
China develops 'precision-designed' seeds to boost food security
cgtn.com