On January 8 and 9, 2018, Prof. Qiang Li, Deputy Director of National sweet potato improvement center, Xuzhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences (XZAAS), accompanied by the sweetpotato specialists from Crop Research Institute of XZAAS visited our center. Prof. Peng Zhang and the key members of sweet potato research team including Drs. Hongxia Wang and Jun Yang met the visitors and made bilateral exchanges on how to promote new variety breeding and application.

AS one of key research unit in sweetpotato cultivation and breeding in China, XZAAS has bred and released the Xushu 43-14, Xushu 22 and Xuzishu 1 series sweetpotato cultivars for commercialization, bringing significant impact in R&D. Profs. Peng Zhang and Deputy Director Qiang Li highlighted the key progresses and issues encountered on both sides and will reach an agreement on complementary collaboration. The bilateral exchanges will promote R&D and partnership. Associate Professor Hongxia Wang introduced the progress of our center that focuses on sweetpotato molecular breeding , germplasm evaluation, regulation of starch metabolism, storage root development and mechanism on stress response.

During the forum, the XZAAS delegates visited SCCB laboratory and the SIPPE greenhouse.