The Combined China-EU-Australia Workshop on Phenotyping
for Abiotic Stress Tolerance and Water Use Efficiency in Crop
Breeding
10-13 May 2013, Yangling, Xi’An, China
Location of the Workshop
Conference Hall 208, Main Floor, International Communication Centre, Northwest A&F
University, Taicheng Road 3, Yangling, China
Objectives
China, EU and Australia are dedicating great R&D effort into agriculture, food security and food
safety. These areas face common challenges, such as the growing demand for safe, nutritious
and affordable food given the constraints of land, water and energy and in face of the
environmental limitations. The only viable approach to increasing food production is to raise
the productivity of existing farm land. However, it is a challenge to increase food production
and improve product quality in an environmentally sustainable manner. Crop management
and breeding are the pillar efforts to tackle the present and future challenges of food
production.
It is urgent to accelerate plant breeding for increased yield potential and better adaptation to
drought and other abiotic stresses worldwide. However, genetic advance on yield potential
and adaptation to major abiotic stresses is constrained in spite of the great advance in the last
decades on technologies directly related with crop molecular breeding.
Phenotyping remains as a major bottle neck for future plant breeding efforts; particularly
when field evaluation is mandatory. High throughput phenotyping technologies and field
characterization of experimental sites for environmental variability are both critical for the
proper evaluation of tolerance of crops to abiotic stresses and yield potential.
The EU-China partnership initiative project in crop breeding “Breeding to Optimise Chinese
Agriculture” (OPTICHINA, FP7-KBBE-2010-4) was launched in June of 2011 as a new strategy
that may serve as a model to reinforce a systematic co-operation on Agricultural Research
between Europe and China.
The ACIAR (Australian Center for International Agricultural Research) project “More efficient
water use by rainfed wheat in China and Australia”(CIM-2005-111) was lauched on June of
2008 to enable technology innovation and transfer to promote the improvement of water use
efficiency in wheat crops grown in rainfed and limited irrigation conditions.
The Combined China-EU-Australia Workshop on Phenotyping for Abiotic Stress Tolerance and
Water Use Efficiency in Crop Breeding will allow communication of technologies and novel
phenotyping tools developed under OPTICHINA, ACIAR and diverse other projects, especially
dedicated to exchange and for the improvement of wheat and maize crops under abiotic stress
conditions.
The workshop is supported by the China 111 Project (No.B12007), The EU-China OPTICHINA
project (FP7-KBBE-2010-4) and The ACIAR project (CIM-2005-111), and co-hosted by College of
Agronomy, NWAFU, The Institute of Water-saving Agriculture in Arid Areas of China, and the
State Key Lab of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas (NWAFU).
International Organizing Committee
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Jose Luis Araus, Professor, Department of Plant Biology, University of Barcelona, Spain
Martin Parry, Professor, Department of Plant biology and Crop Science, Rothamsted
Research, UK
Alisdair Fernie, Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology, Germany
Gustavo Slafer, Crop and Forest Sciences, University of Lleida, Spain
Simon Griffiths, Professor, Department of Crop Genetics, John Innes Centre, UK
Xifeng Gong, Deputy Director General, Department of International Cooperation, CAAS,
China
Jiankang Wang, Professor, Institute of Crop Science, CAAS, China
Jiansheng Li, Professor and Director, National Maize Improvement Centre, Chinese
Agricultural University, China
Jianbing Yan, Professor, National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong
Agriculture University, China
Yin-Gang Hu, Professor, College of Agronomy, Northwest A & F University, China
Xingming Fan, Professor, Institute of Food Crops, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural
Sciences, China
Tianmin Shen, Professor, Henan Tianmin Seed Company, China
Anthony G Condon, Principal Research Scientist , CSIRO Plant industry, Australia
Xing Xu, Professor, Ningxia University, China
Hanmin Yuan, Professor, Ningxia Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, China
Guanglin Wang, Country Manager - China, Australian Center for International Agricultural
Research (ACIAR), Australian Embassy Beijing, China
Local Organizing Committee
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Sun Qixin, President of NWAFU
Hou Xi, Vice-President of NWAFU
Wu Pute, Vice-President of NWAFU, Director of The Institute of Water Saving Agriculture
in Arid Areas of China
Luo Jun, Director of International Office, Northwest A & F University
Leng Changjian, Director of Department of Scientific research, Northwest A & F University
Dai Jun, Director of Department of Logistics, Northwest A & F University
Liao Yuncheng, Dean of College of Agronomy, Northwest A & F University
Kang Zhensheng, Director of State Key Lab of Crop Stress Biology in Arid Areas (NWAFU)
Hu Yin-Gang, College of Agronomy, Northwest A & F University
Workshop Program
Registration
Friday, May 10, 2013
Open ceremony and group photo
8:30 -9:00, Saturday, May 11, 2013, morning
Session I: Phenotyping of photosynthesis related traits in crops
Chair: (EU, Prof Martin Parry)
9:00-12:30, Saturday, May 11, 2013, morning
Session II: Characterization of developmental and growth traits in crops
Chair: (EU, Prof Gustavo Slafer)
14:30-18:30, Saturday, May 11, 2013, afternoon
Session III: Assessment of drought tolerance and water use efficiency in crops
Chair: (Australia, Dr Anthony G Condon,)
8:30-12:30, Sunday, May 12, 2013, morning
Session IV: Novel high-throughout phenotyping technologies and their application
Chairs: (EU, Prof Jose Luis Araus)
14:30-18:30, Sunday, May 12, 2013, afternoon
Poster section
During the coffee and tea-breaks (Saturday and Sunday)
Session V: Practise,
8:00-12:00, Monday, May 13, 2013, morning
Visit to the research facilities in the Institute of Water-saving Agriculture in Arid Areas of China
Instructions for following equipments in rainout shelters and field conditions
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Licor 6400 portable photosynthesis,
FluroPen Max 100, SPAD 502,
Field Spetrometer 3 demonstration,
Chairs: (China, Hu Yin-Gang, Feng Hao, Han Wenting, Xi Yajun)
Visit to the Agricultural Museum, NWAFU
Monday, May 13, 2013, Afternoon
All Participants visit the Agricultural Museum, NWAFU
Second annual meeting of OPTICHINA (restricted to the Steering Committee and other
members of OPTICHINA)
Related issues to participate the workshop
Letter of Invitation
The participants requiring an invitation letter to attend the workshop should send an email
with a copy of the front page of passport and a brief CV to: huyingang@nwsuaf.edu.
Please note that the workshop will not charge the registration fees for the foreign participants,
but everyone has to pay the travel and accomondation expenses to participate the workshop by
their own finance.
Passports and Visas
A valid passport and visa is required for the entry into the People’s Republic of China. Please
consult the nearest Chinese Embassy or Consulate at your country about passport and visa
requirement.
If you need The Authorized Visa Application Form for obtaining a visa to China, Please send an
email in advance, indicating the proposed arrival and leaving date, with the scanned copy of
the front page of your passport and a brief CV to huyingang@nwsuaf.edu.cn.
Travel to Xian-Xianyang Airport and Yangling
Xi’an Xianyang (XIY) International Airport is the closest airport to Yangling, which located 80
km northeast of Yangling. The organization committee will provide pick-up service at Xi’an
Xianyang (XIY) International Airport in May 10, 2013, please advice Dr Hu Yin-Gang by email to
huyingang@nwsuaf.edu.cn for your arrival time and the flight details, so that the Pick-up could
be arranged. If your arrival is before or after May 10, 2013, please also inform Dr Hu Yin-Gang
in advance.
If you are interested in this workshop, could you please fill the Registration Form below before
February 28, 2013, and send it and the title and abstract of your presentation to Dr Hu YinGang (huyingang@nwsuaf.edu.cn) by email.
Please feel free to ask Dr Hu Yin-Gang for additional information by email or phone as showed
below.
Postal Address: College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Taicheng Road 3, Yangling,
Shaanxi, 712100, China
Phone: 029-87080258, Fax: 029-87080062
E-mail：huyingang@nwsuaf.edu.cn；
Registration Form for The Combined China-EU-Australia Workshop on
Phenotyping for Abiotic Stress Tolerance and Water Use Efficiency in Crop
Breeding, Yangling, May 10-13, 2013, Yangling, China
Personal Information
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Accommodation
Fill in this form if you do not arrange accommodation by yourself.
Room type
Number of persons
Number of nights
Price
Double-bed room
1
EUR€45 per room
Standard room
2
EUR€45 per room
Check-in
…… May, 2013
Check-out
…… May, 2013
Note: We will reserve the requested type of accommodation for you. All successful reservations will
be confirmed as soon as possible and other accommodation possibilities will be offered to you if the
requested room is no longer available. Please contact Dr Hu Yin-Gang in case you do not receive a
confirmation one month before the Workshop. You will pay for the accommodation after you arrive
at Yangling at the hotel check-in desk.