Space seeds handed over in China's Hainan Province for selection, cultivation before planting

A handover ceremony for space seeds carried back by China's first reusable and returnable test satellite Shijian-1 was held recently in Longquan Town of Haikou City, south China's Hainan Province.

The seeds include four varieties: taro, black beans, sesame, and lotus seeds, totaling 102 grams.

These seeds were selected by the Agricultural and Rural Bureau of Longhua District, Haikou City.

After the handover, the seeds will not be immediately planted but will first be sent to the Tropical Agricultural and Forestry College at Hainan University for selection and cultivation.

This ensures that the seeds adapt to Earth’s environment while retaining their excellent qualities before they are trial-planted and promoted for broader agricultural use.

"Although we can't see any apparent differences in the appearance right now, some genetic variations have already occurred in their DNA. We need to use specific techniques to screen and identify the best seeds, which will then be developed into new varieties," said Wang Jian, professor from Tropical Agricultural and Forestry College, Hainan University.

"Our primary goal is to increase yield and promote these seeds to local farmers. Ultimately, we aim to transform technological achievements into productive forces, boosting farmers' incomes and improving agricultural efficiency," said Wang Luzhuang, Party official of the Agricultural and Rural Bureau of Longhua District, Haikou City.

Space breeding involves sending plant materials, such as seeds, into space via returnable satellites and manned spacecraft.

These seeds are exposed to cosmic rays, microgravity, high vacuum, and other space environmental factors, inducing genetic mutations.

Once they return to the Earth, these mutated seeds are selected and cultivated to breed new crop varieties. This innovative agricultural technology injects new vitality into the development of agriculture and has the potential to increase yields and improve crop resilience.

Space seeds handed over in China's Hainan Province for selection, cultivation before planting

China's largest tidal flat photovoltaic storage power station, based in Laizhou City of east China's Shandong Province, went into operation on Tuesday, marking one of the country's latest efforts to promote green energy transition.

According to its operator Huadian Laizhou Power Generation, nearly two million solar panels have been installed across 1,200 hectares of tidal flats under the Huadian Laizhou large-scale saline-alkali tidal flat photovoltaic storage integrated project.

The project is one of China's third batch of large-scale wind power and photovoltaic bases, with an installed capacity of 1,000 megawatts.

In addition to green power generation, the station will become capable of operating salt production too. As it is planned that brine will be filled into containers below the panels to produce salt.

"After the project is put into operation, it can generate 1.442 billion kWh of electricity per year, which can meet the annual electricity consumption demand of about 500,000 households. It can save 444,000 tons of standard coal per year," said Wang Gang, deputy chief engineer of Huadian Laizhou Power Generation.

Tidal flat photovoltaic energy storage power stations are usually built on sandy or silty belts on the coast of oceans and rivers with good sunshine conditions.

Take the natural conditions for the Huadian Laizhou saline-alkali tidal flat photovoltaic storage integrated project as an example. The annual average sunshine time here is more than 2,600 hours, with the average daily sunshine time standing at more than 7 hours per day, which can convert abundant solar energy resources into electricity.

In addition, due to the intermittent and unstable nature of photovoltaic power generation, the power station has also built a supporting energy storage system to store excess solar energy with the battery, so that it can be released when there is insufficient light or peak electricity demand at night.

China's largest tidal flat photovoltaic storage power station starts operation