Web Exclusive

Henan breeds colorful, drought-resistant wheat

By Song Jingli (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2011-06-02 16:55

A girl shows off seeds for purple wheat in Zhengzhou, Henan province on June 1. [Photo / chinadaily.com.cn and ciccphoto.com]

 

Zhengzhou - In central China's Henan province, the wheat is colorful and also drought-resistant.

Related readings:  Henan wants to be growth engine  Henan to boost tea industry  Henan to hold talks with ASEAN in late June  'Drought won't dry up the grain supply'

Purple wheat, blue wheat, green wheat and dark wheat are being grown at a seed-breeding base operated by Zhongpu Wheat Technology Co Ltd in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province. Already, the purple, blue and green wheat is past the experimental stage and ready for growing in large areas.

Colorful wheat, which may take at least 12 years to 13 years to breed, has a high nutrient level and can better protect itself from bad weather or bad soil conditions, an employee of the company told chinadaily.com.cn on Tuesday. Wheat varieties that are drought-resistant, flood-resistant and resistant to strong winds are among the strains being developed.

The new variety of anti-drought wheat will be ready to grow in large-scale operations within the next three years, said Xu Hecai, a technology expert with Zhongpu Wheat Technology.

Henan province plans to build a “Central China Economic Zone” under the 12th Five Year Plan (2011-2015). The latest technology will be employed to create a modern agricultural center in a province where agriculture has been an economic mainstay for thousands of years.