BEIJING, Jan. 6 -- The first space vegetables cultivated by Shenzhen Nongke Group Corporation (SNGC) are expected to become common dishes on city dining tables in March.

    On Sept. 27 last year, 17 species of vegetable, fruit and flora seeds, chosen by SNGC, were sent into space with the country's 20th recoverable science satellite, which returned to the earth 18 days later.

    ¡°Under the physical conditions of outer space such as radiation, low gravity and vacuum, the seeds can take on astronautical mutagenesis, which alters the germ plasma of crop seeds,¡± said SNGC¡¯s associate researcher Jin Xing.

    ¡°After the satellite returned to the Earth, the high yielding and most immunized seeds were selected,¡± Jin said.

    ¡°Different from genetically modified crops, which have evoked much controversy among scientists, no new genes are introduced to the space vegetables, so they are definitely safe for consumption,¡± Jin said.

    Space vegetables are now being planted in Shenzhen Outer Space Crops Park on the western side of Honey Lake Road in Futian District with a total area of 40,000 square meters.

    Established Oct. 29 last year as the breeding base of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the park now has more than 50 species of space crops, including the 17 species from the city.

    ¡°We¡¯re considering holding a tomato festival this March, by which time city residents will be able to enjoy about 30 varieties of space tomatoes on their dining tables,¡± said the park¡¯s manager Li Sha¡¯ai.

    Following the tomato festival, the other species of space vegetables in the park, such as cucumber, pepper, eggplant, tomato, bean, potato and pumpkin, would also go to market with prices 30 to 50 percent higher than their common counterparts, Li said.

    So far, the Chinese Academy of Sciences has set up three space vegetable breeding bases, one of which is in Shenzhen while the others are in Beijing and Jiangsu Province.

    Since 1987, the country has sent about 1,000 species of crop seeds into space on more than 10 recoverable science satellites.

    China, Russia and the United States are the only three countries with recoverable satellites trying out astronautical mutagenetic breeding technology. Enditem

(Source: Shenzhen Daily)