A Chair Professor of HGU, Soonkwon Kim Developed Two Varieties of Corn
writer: 관리자 |
date: 2015.11.17 |
count: 915
Soonkwon Kim, known as Dr. Corn, a Chair Professor of HGU and the Chairman of the International Maize Foundation, established an incorporated company in 2008 to breed Dr. Corn’s maize varieties in three Northeast Provinces of China. His aim was to multiply maize in China and assist the maize research of North Korea. During these eight years, the company bred and tested 160,000 varieties of germplasm.
Among them, one honey maize and one waxy maize variety passed the test for adoptability in Heilong Jiang by the government of China. The varieties are producing in Hainan, a Southern Chinese Province. If these varieties pass a final test in 2016, the varieties will be registered and officially released.
The sale of the maize varieties has been done in cooperating with Harbin Science Cooperation Ltd. This has included elite seed variety tests and production. In China, more than 5,000 private and national maize companies exist. The total scale of this project is 35,000,000 hectares which is 50 times the area of Korea's rice cultivation. Maize is the first major crop of China. One quarter of the world’s maize is grown in China. In the current maize cultivation area, hybrid F1 has been planted which requires new seed every year.
Honey Maize is the first variety that has been breeding in Heilongjiang and it is called fruit maize in the local area. The majority of the steamed sticky maize which are sold at rest areas along the highway and streets in Seoul and Busan are imported from China.
Dr. Corn, Soonkwon Kim, is a world-renowned scientist and breeder developing eco-friendly corn by utilizing the principle of co-existence without using any chemicals in the US, Asia, and Africa. He has been developing corn for 49 years. Super corn has been breeding in three Northeast Provinces of China. If this corn passes the adaptability test it will contribute to solving the food shortage issues of North Korea. This will help the people in the North once Korea is reunified.
Among his research projects is a new maize variety enhancing bio-ethanol production using stem cells of maize supported by POSCO. 80% of the research has been completed and it is considered a countermeasure to deal with the global food shortages and climate changes. At the same time, black maize breeding was studied. This corn will prevent foot and mouth disease and grows in severe cold. It is a promising feed for livestock. The Chinese government provided accommodation for growing the corn in Harbin for Prof. Kim's research.
The golden seed project, which has been promoted by the government of Korea, aims to enter the global seed market. Korea has investing thousands of billion won toward this end. One of the objectives is to sell hybrid maize seed. In five or ten years, this research will bear fruit.
※ Terminology
Breeding [育種]: Breeding is the reproduction of offspring, usually animals or plants that are valuable to the life of mankind.
