Agri R&D innovations move from lab to market in Hubei

Researchers at Hongshan Laboratory in Wuhan, Hubei province, are working with seed companies, growers and feed producers to turn higher-protein corn into a commercial crop, tackling the handling and purchasing arrangements needed to get it from experimental fields into animal feed.

The effort is part of a broader push at the Hubei research institution to bring agricultural discoveries into use, from black rice bred for everyday meals to straw-based materials designed to replace conventional plastic mulch.

Established in 2021 and led by Huazhong Agricultural University, the laboratory brings together universities, research institutes and businesses. Its facilities support work ranging from genetic analysis to measuring how crops grow under different conditions.

For the university's corn breeding team, commercial interest is becoming tangible. Professor Qiu Fazhan said more than 200,000 bags of high-protein corn seed produced that year had been sold.

"They all sold out," he said. One variety, Weiyu 115, has a reported protein content of 13 percent. The team's aim is to increase the protein supplied by corn and reduce the need for soybean meal in animal feed.

Getting that crop to buyers requires a supply chain that preserves its identity.

Weimi Biotechnology, a commercial partner, has organized dedicated planting, purchasing, drying and storage arrangements. The company signed cooperation agreements with 12 growing operations and two feed businesses at a field event in Wuhan.

At the same event, measurements from a farmer's field planted with Weiyu 002 showed average grain protein content of 12.2 percent. That result describes the sampled crop, rather than a guaranteed outcome for every farm.

The partnership is also extending into livestock production. At a September meeting, the laboratory, university and Guangxi Yangxiang Group — a major Chinese livestock and feed enterprise — reviewed joint projects including feed crops, feeding equipment and feed formulation.

Another route to market is taking shape around Huamoxiang black rice.

Huamoxiang 3, developed jointly by researchers and companies including Hongshan Laboratory, received provincial variety approval in 2023. It was bred as wholegrain black rice suitable for serving as cooked rice.

In June, businesses including a regional platform of State-owned COFCO Corp and the research team's commercialization partner agreed to form an industry consortium in Xiantao, Hubei. The proposed collaboration links seed development with cultivation, processing and sales.

The laboratory's work on straw-based biodegradable mulch faces a different practical question: how the material performs through a growing season.

A team led by professor Li Qiang has been testing its use with rice transplanting. In August, researchers assessed the first harvest of ratoon rice at a demonstration site covering more than 128 mu, about 8.5 hectares, in Qichun county.

Across the projects, research is increasingly tied to decisions made outside the laboratory: what growers plant, how buyers value a crop and whether a new material fits existing farm machinery. Those decisions will determine how widely the discoveries are used.

Contact the writers at liukun@chinadaily.com.cn