Overview of Tianshui Field Experimental Station for Pest Monitoring and

Control, CAAS

Tianshui Field Experimental Station for Pest Monitoring and Control, CAAS, locates at Gangu County, Tianshui City, Gansu Province. The Station is established with joint effort from IPP-CAAS and the Institute of Plant Protection, Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Tianshui Institute of Agricultural Sciences. It is about 4 km to the county seat and 2.5 km to the railway station. The farmland locates at 1324 m above sea level and the area of the farmland and facilities is 3.8 ha.

 

Location of Tianshui Station (the violet star)

 

  
Topography of oversummering zone showing snow covered wheat fields (left) and badly rusted wheat field (right)

                   
Countrywide tremendous outbreaks of wheat stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis) occurred in 1950 and 1964 and caused, respectively, grain loss of 600,000 tons and 320,000 tons. The frequent occurrence of stripe rust affected seriously the safety of crop production in China and brought to the attention of Chinese Government. Late Premier Zhou Enlai gave an instruction in 1964. He wrote that 'Notify all of the local governments to practice, study, observe and improve continuously so that to reduce the disease and expand the benefits. In order to implement the spirit of this important instruction from Late Premier Zhou, China Ministry of Agriculture invested to establish the Research Workstation on Wheat Rusts, IPP-CAAS and IPP-GAAS (Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences) which then located in Gangu County, Gansu Province, in August 1965. The construction of the Research Workstation was completed and put into use in 1970. IPP-GAAS moved to this location in 1973. The Workstation was transferred to the administration of IPP-GAAS due to the influence of 'Culture Revolution' later. An experimental building, 2000 m², barn rooms, greenhouses, dormitory and other facilities were constructed in the Workstation gradually. After IPP-GAAS moved back to Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu Province, in 1984, Gangu Workstation had been an experimental and demonstrational base for different research programs. The main function of the Workstation is to study the IPM of main crop diseases and insect pests and wheat stripe rust is the number one on the list of the targets. A special fund for treasury bond the Facility Construction for Integrated Management of Wheat Stripe Rust Reservoir from the Government and a capacity establishment project for key research institutions in Gansu Province, launched by Gansu Department of Science and Technology, were put into actions in 2002-2004 and 2006, respectively. The research conditions were improved greatly in the Workstation.

To reinforce the IPM of crop pests, especially the collaborated research on the management of the reservoir of wheat stripe rust, and to safeguard the crop safety, IPP-CAAS, IPP-GAAS and Tianshui Institute of Agricultural Science, TIAS, supported by MOA and CAAS, signed an official agreement on the joint establishment of 'Tianshui Field Experimental Station for Pest Monitoring and Control' on 26 May, 2009. CAAS re-designated the Station as 'Tianshui Field Experimental Station for Pest Monitoring and Control, CAAS', on 12 October 2009. This marks that a new round of collaboration in agricultural research entered into a phase of substantial implementation.

  

   
Facilities in Tianshui Station and an inoculated field (lower right)

 

View of the experimental fields

Main Research Directions

1. IPM theory and technology research on primordial pests

Focus on wheat stripe rust and take other crop diseases, insect pests, weeds and rodents into account and study systematically the biology of the diseases and insect pests, the occurrence and the damage, the monitoring of the population dynamics, the mechanisms of pathogenicity, the genetics and the variation of the diseases and insect pests, the cause of disease disasters, the ecological mechanisms of large scale outbreak and IPM theory and technology.

2. Research on monitoring technology of quarantine pests

Focus on No. 1 disease of wheat, potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) and codling moth (Cydia pomonella) and study systematically the early diagnosis, detection, route of spread, emergent eradication and sustainable management measures for invasive alien species. Develop the technique systems for study on the spread, the epidemics, the damage and the control of invasive alien species.

3. Significant scientific questions and issues of technique innovation in environmental safety monitoring of genetic modified crops

This area includes mainly the monitoring and assessment of the resistance against diseases and insect pests in GM crops and the resistance mechanism of target organisms to GM crops and the techniques of the management.

Function of the Station

The Station locates in Gangu County where is a typical arid and semi-arid ecological region with the characteristics of stereo farming. Therefore, the Station can serve the basic researches on main crop diseases, insect pests, weeds and rodents in the western regions of China, the technique development and service, the experimental demonstration, personnel training, international collaboration, academic exchange, etc. To achieve these, the Station consistently carries out researches on local pandemic diseases, such as wheat stripe rust, powdery mildew, maize leaf spots, etc., and invasive alien species, such as No. 1 disease in wheat, potato beetle, codling moth, verticillium wilt of alfalfa (Verticillium albo-atrum), etc., to reduce the threats to the safety of food, fruit and forest and decrease the population size of the stripe rust inocula to wheat growing regions to the east of Gansu.

Achievements

The Station has won a first prize of National Prize for Science and Technology in 2012, a second prize of Gansu Prize for Science and Technology in 2010, a second prize of Gansu Harvest Prize for Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fishery in 2013, a first prize of Chinese Prize for Agricultural Science and Technology in 2011, a first prize of China Society of Plant Protection Prize for Plant Protection in 2010 and two second awards of Tianshui Award for Science and Technology in 2009 and 2010, respectively, since 2009. In addition, eight new wheat cultivars have got certifications for releasing. More than 100 scientific papers have been published. The Station has declared more than 10 patents and one wheat cultivar obtained protection for new cultivars.

   
The more diversified agronomical practices in oversummering zone now (left) and the seeding of mulched maize (right)

Director of the Station: Dr. LIU Taiguo, CAAS
Tel. +86-10-62815618
Email: tgliu@ippcaas.cn

Standing Deputy Director: Dr. CAO Shiqin, GAAS
Tel.: +86-938-5932019; 0931-7675458
Email: caoshiqin6702@163.com

Deputy Director: Mr. GAO Qiang, TIAS
Tel.: +86-938-8362620
Email: gaoqiang2503@sina.com