At the Freshman Orientation for College of Plant Science and Technology on Sep. 3th, 4 students brought their self-made videos about the agricultural problems in their hometown to professors of HZAU for advice.
Student Li Yujie mentioned that vast cropland has been transformed into grassland to meet the demand of animal husbandry in Liaoning Province, where it used to abound in corn and soybean. And she doubted if the change in land use would damage national food supply.
Prof. Fu Tingdong, academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, explained that the change in land use was in line with policy. Currently, the ratio of grain to meat is almost balanced in Chinese diet but will drop in the next few years. Fu added that, by 2030, more than 50% of the grain will serve as for age and more grass will be consumed for this purpose, which is an overwhelming tendency for agricultural development. The research on cultivating new-type rape by Fu and his team is the exploration of and support for the development of animal husbandry.
Shi Hui, from Tianshui City, Gansu Province, introduced that many people in his hometown planted Chinese Prickly Ash Trees, however, those trees grew with fungi, the trunks and branches were black and dry as if they were burned to death. Shi sincerely hopes to find a solution to this disease in his hometown.
Prof. Jiang Daohong on Plant Pathology diagnosed those symptoms and recommended treatment. Prof. Jiang also encouraged Shi to work hard to find better solutions to problems in the future.
Song Zemeng, whose family maize was in a good state. But Song found that most maize stalks with only one cob were stronger and longer than less productive ones with two cobs. She wondered whether it was possible to increase the production through better development of both cobs. As for this question, Crop Physiologist Prof. Peng Shaobing explained that maize and rice are different, and as in the case of two cobs, they will fiercely compete for the organic nutrients, hence improving planting density is the most important way to increase production.
Besides the video questions, Prof. Jiang also patiently answered students’ other questions on the pest damage.
It’s reported there were a total of 64 videos received from freshmen all over the country in the College.
(By Lei Xue and Hu Wendie)
http://news.hzau.edu.cn/2016/0905/46491.shtml
