Sun Deling (R) and his colleague Niu Guobao check cauliflower growth at Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences in north China's Tianjin, April 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)
Sun Deling, 61, is a cauliflower breeding expert who works with China's National Bulk Vegetable Industry Technology System. Sun went into vegetable cultivation research at Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences after receiving his postgraduate degree in 1985. At the time, foreign companies nearly monopolized China's cauliflower seed market, with imports accounting for 90 percent of the country's hybrid seeds.
Sun Deling and his team made the decision to change the situation. In 30 years, they have cultivated 26 cauliflower varieties with independent intellectual property rights, including "Xia Xue," "Feng Hua," and "Jin Pin," which have been promoted to more than 20 provinces throughout China, generating a revenue of more than five billion yuan (776 million U.S. dollars).
"Our domestic cauliflower seeds can now account for 85 percent of the market," Sun said. "We have our own improved cauliflower varieties and export about 5,000 kilograms of cauliflower seeds to Pakistan and other countries under the 'Belt and Road Initiative' every year."
File photo taken in November 2018 shows Sun Deling (1st L) inspecting an experimental farm for a new cauliflower variety in India. (Xinhua)
Sun Deling (C) poses for a group photo with his research team members at Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences in north China's Tianjin, April 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)
Sun Deling (R) inspects cauliflower growth while his colleague Niu Guobao takes notes at an experimental field of Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences in north China's Tianjin, April 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)
Sun Deling checks cauliflower seedling growth at a lab of Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences in north China's Tianjin, April 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)
Sun Deling shows cauliflower seeds under breeding experiment at Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences in north China's Tianjin, April 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)
Photo taken on April 19, 2022 shows cauliflower seedlings under a breeding experiment at Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences in north China's Tianjin. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)
Sun Deling (R) discusses with his colleague Niu Guobao at Tianjin Academy of Sciences in north China's Tianjin, April 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)
Sun Deling checks cauliflower pollination at Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences in north China's Tianjin, April 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)-
