crossorigin="anonymous"> Chinese scientists grow ‘climate-safe’ potatoes to tackle food security threats – Subrang Safar: Your Journey Through Colors, Fashion, and Lifestyle

Chinese scientists grow ‘climate-safe’ potatoes to tackle food security threats




Labels marking potato variety Zhongshu 5 lie next to a container of potato tubers at a research center under CIP in Yanqing District, Beijing, China on May 14, 2024. — Reuters

At a research center in northwest Beijing, molecular biologist Li Jiping and his team have made significant progress in tackling the challenges posed to food security by climate change. Reuters Reported

The team recently harvested a cluster of unusually small potatoes, as small as a quail egg, from plants grown under conditions that mimic the high temperatures expected by the end of the century. is designed.

These tiny potatoes, weighing just 136 grams (4.8 oz), were much smaller than the typical potatoes grown in China, where varieties are often twice the size of baseballs.

Researcher Li Yafei places a leaf in an instrument to measure the photosynthesis rate of a potato plant at a research center under CIP in Yanqing District, Beijing, China on April 2, 2024.
Researcher Li Yafei places a leaf in an instrument to measure the photosynthesis rate of a potato plant at a research center under CIP in Yanqing District, Beijing, China on April 2, 2024.

Potatoes are critical to global food security due to their high yields compared to other staple crops, and China, as the world’s largest producer, plays a central role in ensuring their availability.

However, the crop is highly vulnerable to heat, and as climate change accelerates, increasing temperatures along with the severity of droughts and floods are threatening crop production.

A worker wearing a protective suit harvests potato tubers in a greenhouse under the Yakishi Senfeng Potato Industry Company in Yakishi, Inner Mongolia, China, June 16, 2024. — Reuters
A worker wearing a protective suit harvests potato tubers in a greenhouse under the Yakishi Senfeng Potato Industry Company in Yakishi, Inner Mongolia, China, June 16, 2024. — Reuters

Li and his team are leading a three-year study to evaluate how higher temperatures will affect the vegetable, focusing on China’s two most widely grown potato varieties.

“I worry about what will happen in the future,” Lee said. “Farmers will harvest fewer potatoes, and that will affect food security.” Research published this month in Climate Smart Agriculture shows that higher temperatures Heat accelerates tuber growth by 10 days but also reduces potato yield by more than 50%.

A lab worker holds test tubes containing potato plants in a tissue culture laboratory at a research facility under the CIP on April 17, 2024 in Yanqing District, Beijing, China. — Reuters
A lab worker holds test tubes containing potato plants in a tissue culture laboratory at a research facility under the CIP on April 17, 2024 in Yanqing District, Beijing, China. — Reuters

Li’s team grew the crop in a controlled chamber at 3 degrees Celsius above the current average temperature in northern Hebei and Inner Mongolia, regions where potatoes are traditionally grown in China.

In the context of global warming, which could reach 3.1 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2100, the implications for agriculture are dire. In Inner Mongolia, heavy rains have already caused significant damage to potato crops, triggering diseases that delay the harvest.

Meanwhile, seed potato companies like Yakishi Senfeng are turning to innovative solutions to ensure higher yields and reduce disease risks, particularly late blight, which thrives in hot, humid conditions. are, including aeroponic systems.

A worker transplants potato seedlings, propagated in a laboratory, on potting mix, in a greenhouse at a research center under CIP in Yanqing District, Beijing, China, on May 20, 2024. — Reuters
A worker potato plant in a laboratory at a research center under CIP, in Yanqing District, Beijing, China, on May 20, 2024. Transplanted, on potting mix, in greenhouse. — Reuters

The joint research between the International Potato Center (CIP) and the Chinese government is part of an urgent effort to help farmers adapt to a changing climate.

Lee’s team is also developing heat-tolerant potato varieties by experimenting with genetic modifications in greenhouses. Li emphasized that within the next decade, Chinese farmers will need to adapt to these changes by adjusting planting schedules or moving crops to higher altitudes to avoid the heat. Failure to do so can result in reduced yields, higher potato prices, and increased food insecurity.

“We need to act now,” Lee said. “If we don’t find solutions, farmers will make less money, and consumers will feel the effects of higher prices.”



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