Chinese ‘Space Potato Seeds’ on Earth Labs Tests
After spending five months in space, more than 60,000 potato seeds were selected, and the process of cultivating them has started. The goal is to find special traits that could increase yield and efficiency.
The seeds were transported on board the Shenzhou XVI space mission, which made its way back to Earth on October 31, 2023. The potato seeds were handed to the Shangdu Potato Technology Innovation Center in the Inner Mongolia autonomous territory.
“The cultivation process for these space potatoes will involve test stages in the laboratory, greenhouse, and field,” Zhang Linhai, director of the Shangdu Potato Technology Innovation Center, mentioned, cited by China Daily.
Zhang continued by saying that the area has a great climate for growing potatoes, with lots of arable land, a high altitude, a cold climate, and few pests and diseases.
Under ideal circumstances, the seeds will sprout in a greenhouse, after which they will be cultivated in pots until tubers appear. They will then be moved into the field to undergo additional assessment of their different attributes.
“About five percent of the plants will be selected for additional testing, focusing on factors such as yield and disease resistance,” the Shangdu Potato Technology Innovation Center director also mentioned.
According to the expert, the Chinese researchers will produce potato varieties with enhanced features including high salt-alkali tolerance and disease resistance by using CRISPR, a precise gene-editing tool that allows researchers to tweak the DNA of living creatures precisely.
“The space environment has the potential to induce genetic mutations in plant seeds, leading to desirable traits such as early maturity, high quality, high yield, and disease resistance,” Hu Baigeng, director of the National Engineering Research Center for Potato, said.
The seeds were gathered in Laoling, Shandong province, the home of the institution, before their launch into orbit.
This breeding method, often referred to as space mutagenesis or space-induced mutant breeding, includes subjecting seeds to high cosmic ray exposure together with additional environmental factors like vacuums, microgravity, and low geomagnetic interference.
Since 1987, China has been carrying out space breeding studies, launching plant seeds on Shenzhou rockets and retrieving satellites into orbit. Across the nation, space crops like tomatoes, wheat, and rice have been successfully grown.
