Wen Pleased With New Corn Variety

While in Henan Province to inspect drought mitigation work, Premier Wen Jiabao dropped in to check on corn breeding at the municipal academy of agricultural sciences in Hebi City.

In the institute's exhibition hall met with Mr. Cheng Xiangwen and his colleagues and ther he saw the evidence of their achivements: wooden bowls filled with golden corn seeds. So far, Cheng and his colleagues have developed 11 new corn varieties, including one that received a third-level national award.

One variety, "Jundan 20," was developed by Cheng after 19 years of breeding. It is suitable for close planting, drought tolerant and high-yielding, reaching 700-800 kg per mu. In 2010, this variety was the second-most popular corn variety, planted on 47 million mu, mainly in Henan and other parts of the Huang-Huai region.

Wen Jiabao heard this and exclaimed, “That’s not easy!”

Wen encouraged Cheng: “Henan Province makes the most important contribution to national wheat production, and its contribution to corn production is increasing more and more.”

While riding in the car back to Hebi City, Premier Wen told local comrades that we will give the Jundan variety a new name: "Forever Quality."

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