Green development and ecological civilization are the development strategies in the new era. How can we achieve the goals of respecting Nature, protecting it and following its laws as proposed in the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China while ensuring national food security? ZHU Jinwen, an associate research fellow at the Rural Development Academy and the College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, has led his team to develop an eco-friendly approach.
There are more than 1,400 kinds of weeds, which are harmful in multiple ways. Not only do they reduce the yield and quality of crops, but they also become the hosts of pests. As one group of the most formidable plants, they incur the huge food loss of over 3 million tons each year in China. In recent years, due to the rapid development of weed resistance to herbicide and the immense challenge of developing new agents, weeds have constituted a threat to food security. Moreover, the safety of agricultural products caused by the improper use of pesticides has also turned out to be worrisome. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop a green approach to manage weeds.
Over the past decade, ZHU Jinwen’s team has been committed to developing eco-friendly technologies for controlling weeds and invasive alien plants, including the ingenious use of agricultural waste for weed control. They have also worked out new crop cultivation methods and ecological regulation measures. In this way, 95% of the weeds can be controlled, the quality and yield of grains, vegetables and fruits can be ensured, and agricultural resources can be recycled.
At present, ZHU Jinwen’s team is endeavoring to promote commercialization of scientific and technological achievements in the hope of providing an ideal proposal for the control of tricky herbicide-resistant weeds and the development of green and organic agriculture so as to develop low-carbon production methods and practice the concept of conservation agriculture advocated by the World Food and Agriculture Organization.
The long-cherished vista of healthy rice and beautiful countryside are being transformed into a real landscape with the strenuous efforts of agricultural scientists at Zhejiang University.
（From ZJU NEWSROOM）