Space seeds bloom in Inner Mongolia desert trial
Space seed Cistanche deserticola has flowered for the first time, with its growth cycle shortened by nearly half Helping boost income from the desert industry and coordinate desert control, stay tuned for follow-up trial progress
Recently, progress has been reported from an aerospace breeding test base in Ejin Banner, Alxa League, Inner Mongolia: the desert Cistanche “space seeds” that had been aboard the Shijian19 satellite have bloomed for the first time in ground tests, and their growth cycle is nearly half that of plants grown from traditional seeds.
The project’s technical lead said that the vegetative growth period of this batch of plants was 338 days, significantly shorter than that of the control group. The research team believes that factors such as radiation, microgravity, and high vacuum in the space environment helped the seeds produce mutation traits more favorable for growth, laying the foundation for subsequent breeding and promotion.
Cistanche is an important crop in the local sand industry. It is not only combined with Haloxylon for desert control, but also helps increase the incomes of farmers and herders. Industry insiders said that if the followup trials and promotion go smoothly, these new lines are expected to improve the stability of raw material supply and further promote the coordinated development of desertification prevention and control with distinctive industries.