The Institute for Grain Crop Research of the Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences was established in 1978 as a provincial agricultural research organization. Its primary focus is the selection and breeding of new varieties of rice, wheat, barley, sweet potato, maize, edible beans, and other food crops, as well as research into high-yield cultivation technology and germplasm resources innovation. The institute is also involved in the demonstration and promotion of new agricultural technologies and achievements and the development of seed and seedling industrialization.
The institute houses eight research laboratories, covering areas such as the utilization of rice hybrid advantages, high-quality specialty rice, molecular breeding, wheat, potato and taro research, crop germplasm resources, mixed grain cultivation, and farming techniques. With a staff of 100 employees, including 45 senior researchers and 20 PhD holders, the institute is well-equipped for agricultural research. It has a high-standard experimental area of over 300 mu in the Nanhu area of Wuchang and is expanding its research bases in Ezhou City, Hubei Province, and Lingshui County, Hainan Province, with new experimental bases covering 560 mu and 100 mu, respectively.
The institute also maintains the largest medium-term crop germplasm resource repository and network information-sharing platform in central China, preserving over 24,000 accessions of 27 crop species, including rice, wheat, and corn. The Hubei Key Laboratory of Germplasm Innovation and Genetic Improvement of Grain Crops is equipped with state-of-the-art experimental facilities for molecular biology and cell engineering research. The institute also collaborates with 12 national and 18 provincial research platforms, including the Wuhan Branch of the National Rice Improvement Center, the Yangtze River Basin Rice Regional Innovation Center, and the Hubei Grain Crop Breeding Center.
Additionally, the institute has established cooperative relationships with several international agricultural research organizations, including the U.S. Rice Technology Corporation, the International Wheat and Maize Improvement Center in Mexico, the Crop Improvement Research Institute of Western Australia, and the Eastern Grain and Cereal Research Center of the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food in Canada.
More information (in Chinese): http://www.hbaas.ac.cn/liangzuosuo/.
