The transformation of agriculture in China: Looking back and looking forward

China's grain yield increased from 1 t ha~(–1) in 1961 to 6 t ha~(–1) in 2015, while successfully feeding not only its large population but also supplying agricultural products all over the world. These achievements were greatly supported by modern technology and distinct governmental policy. However, China's grain production has been causing a number of problems mainly related to declining natural resources and a lack of environmental protection. Due to the growing population and changing dietary requirements, increasing food production must be achieved by increasing resource use efficiency while minimizing environmental costs. We propose two novel development pathways that can potentially sustain agricultural crop production in the next few decades:(i) enhancing nutrient use efficiency with zero increase in chemical fertilizer input until 2020 and(ii) concurrently increasing grain yield and nutrient use efficiency for sustainable intensification with integrated nutrient management after 2020. This paper provides a perspective on further agricultural developments and challenges, and useful knowledge of our valuable experiences for other developing countries.     

两步法诱导根尖细胞同步分裂

将室温下发芽不久的玉米幼苗移至５℃，低温处理一定时间后，放回到较高的生长温度，可有效诱导根尖细胞同步有丝分裂，同步率最高可达９０％，对其机理进行了推测。     

安徽史前稻作农业研究的回顾与展望

史前农业作为史前考古的一个重要领域，越来越受到学者们的广泛关注，而关于史前稻作的研究，更是如、火如荼，成为目前考古界、农史界的一大热门话题。中国古代农业文化，主要是由北方的旱作农业和南方的稻作农业两大体系构成。安徽地处华东腹地，东邻江苏，北依山东，西接河南、湖北，南连江西、浙江，是连接中原与东南地区的重要通道，也是古代南北方文化交流、传播、碰撞的重要地区。安徽地区的古代文化有其自身特点，也有其兼容性。对安徽史前稻作农业的研究将会丰富中国史前稻作农业研究的内容，对中国的史前文化和古代文明发展进程的研究也将具有积极意义。     

Catalytic,oxidative condensation of CH4 to CH3COOH in one step via CH activation

Acetic acid is an important petrochemical that is currently produced from methane (or coal) in a three-step process based on carbonylation of methanol. We report a direct, selective, oxidative condensation of two methane molecules to acetic acid at 180 degrees C in liquid sulfuric acid. Carbon-13 isotopic labeling studies show that both carbons of acetic acid originate from methane. The reaction is catalyzed by palladium, and the results are consistent with the reaction occurring by tandem catalysis, involving methane C-H activation to generate Pd-CH3 species, followed by efficient oxidative carbonylation with methanol, generated in situ from methane, to produce acetic acid.