The Spring Rapeseed Research Institute of the Qinghai Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences (QAAFS) is one of the earliest institutes in China dedicated to scientific research on spring rapeseed. In 2001, the Qinghai Provincial Department of Science and Technology established the Qinghai Spring Rapeseed Research and Development Center, an industrial consortium integrating breeding, seed propagation, promotion, processing, and sales. This consortium consists of the rapeseed center of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences and two enterprises.
The institute has been approved for several key research platforms, including the Qinghai Spring Rapeseed Genetic Improvement Key Laboratory, the Qinghai Branch of the National Oilseed Improvement Center, the National Rapeseed Industry Technology System Spring Rapeseed Variety Improvement Scientist Post, and the MARA Key Laboratory Spring Rapeseed Scientific Observation Experiment Station. It serves as the leading unit for the Qinghai rapeseed industry technology research and development platform and is an important component of the Qinghai University Provincial and Ministry-Co-Constructed Three Rivers Source Ecology and Plateau Agriculture and Animal Husbandry National Key Laboratory and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Germplasm Resources Research and Utilization Laboratory.
The institute focuses on research areas such as hybrid high-quality utilization, germplasm resource innovation and utilization, biotechnology breeding, cruciferous vegetable breeding, cultivation, plant protection, and promotion. It currently has 14 employees and operates four specialized laboratories for quality analysis, microspore culture, molecular biology, and cell genetics, covering a total laboratory area of 1,000 m².
The institute also manages 100 mu of scientific research and experimental land, 10 mu of movable net houses, 1,200 m² of greenhouses, a 1,000 m² drying yard, a 500 m² seed warehouse, and a 600 m² hanging storage room. It houses the largest hybrid spring rapeseed seed production base in China, with an annual seed production area of approximately 10,000 acres. The varieties developed by the institute have increased average yields by about 35%, raised the upper altitude limit for spring rapeseed cultivation in China by 350 meters, and further expanded the planting area for double-low cabbage spring rapeseed.
More information (in Chinese): https://nky.qhu.edu.cn/jgsz/kxyjbm/19200.htm
