Advanced English Text Translation Unit 19

For thousands of years, the traditional agriculture in China has not changed much, and most of the agriculture is family agriculture. Although China is a big country, only 7% of the land can be cultivated. On this arable land, the grain produced by farmers feeds the population of China.

For example, farmers in China have been using technology for a long time; Manure, irrigation to increase the yield of their land. With the passage of time, many agricultural technologies have been modernized: chemical fertilizers have been used now; Electric pumps are also used for irrigation. In order to make full use of the land, some areas can plant it twice or even many times a year. Rice, cotton and vegetables can sometimes be planted in special seedbeds before planting, which can save time, and other crops can also be planted in that season. In the 1980s, more advanced scientific and technological information was introduced from foreign countries. The import of technology and machinery and the exchange of international delegations have greatly helped farmers in China to increase their output.

Since the early 1990s, scientists have begun to develop new technologies to increase agricultural production without damaging the environment. For example, although chemical fertilizer can grow good crops, it is not conducive to the environment. New technology can not only increase agricultural output, but also benefit the development of the environment. The development of agriculture in the future must rely on high technology and traditional views. Not only the yield of crops is very important, but also we should protect the environment.

The biggest problem faced by farmers in China is the shortage of cultivated land. Using the latest technology, scientists in China grow vegetables in greenhouses. The roots of these vegetables are not planted in the ground, but suspended in water, and all the nutrients needed for vegetable growth are in the water. Now some vegetables are not planted in the garden, but in the greenhouse, where there is no wind, rain and insects. No matter how the weather changes outside, the temperature in the greenhouse is controlled at a certain temperature by computer.

Another technique is to try to invent a new plant that can produce bigger crops. This development uses a gene transformation called GM. "G" stands for "heredity" and comes from the word "gene". "M" stands for "modification" and "transformation". In other words, the way tomatoes grow with natural seeds has changed. This new tomato is bigger and healthier. Their growth is free from danger and disease. They also need little time to mature.

This tomato is one of nearly 4500 different transgenic crops. In China, about 100 research stations are conducting transgenic research to keep up with their foods, such as tomatoes, cotton, tobacco, green peppers, flowers, watermelons, soybeans and, of course, rice. All kinds of genetically modified watermelons will have no watermelon seeds, and there will be genetically modified rice, sometimes called "golden rice". This kind of rice contains a lot of vitamins and can grow on barren land.