Only the chrysanthemums by the eastern fence can withstand the cold, and the golden millet sprouts at dawn are clearer. Chrysanthemums are in full bloom. Who could resist them?
On October 10th, the Institute of Grassland and Flower Science of Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences (hereinafter referred to as the Institute of Grassland and Flower Science) held a display and observation meeting of new varieties of characteristic flowers and plants at the 垡 science and technology demonstration base in daxingyu, Beijing. A wide variety of ornamental chrysanthemums were in full bloom, presenting a breathtaking scene. The tea herb chrysanthemum variety 'Yutai No.1' cultivated by this institute has been planted on over 100,000 mu of land across the country, and its influence is astonishing. 

The green chrysanthemum 'Yanshan Jinghong' has red flowers. The natural flowering period is in late September. It has strong branching ability, does not need to be pinched off, and naturally takes on a spherical shape. The plant height is 60 to 80 centimeters, and the crown spread is 80 to 90 centimeters.

The green chrysanthemum 'Yanshan Jingfen' has pink flowers. The natural flowering period is in late September. It has strong branching ability, does not need to be pinched off, and naturally takes on a spherical shape. The plant height is 45 to 50 centimeters, and the crown spread is 60 to 70 centimeters.  

The green chrysanthemum 'Yanshan Jinghuang' has yellow flowers. Its natural flowering period is at the end of September. It has strong branching ability and does not require pinching. It is naturally spherical in shape, with a plant height of 45 to 50 centimeters and a crown spread of 55 to 65 centimeters. 

The tea chrysanthemum variety "Yutai No.1" has a national planting area of over 100,000 mu and is one of the first batch of tea chrysanthemum varieties approved in China. It has strong adaptability and can be planted at an altitude of up to 3,000 meters. It can be grown from Quanzhou in Fujian Province and Sheyang in Jiangsu Province in the east to Bole in Xinjiang in the west, from Yuxi in Yunnan Province in the south to Daqing in Heilongjiang Province in the north.
Leaders from the Daxing District Bureau of Gardens and Greening, the Publicity Department of the Daxing District Committee, and the Daxing District Forestry Technology Extension Station, along with members of the Beijing Suburban Urban Agriculture Technology Service Team, the Landscape Leisure and Urban Agriculture Improvement Project Team, and experts from the Flower Breeding Team of the Institute of Grass and Flowers, participated in the observation and exchange activities together.

Li Hui, deputy director of the Daxing District Bureau of Gardens and Greening (second from the left), Li Minji, deputy director of the Promotion Department of the Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences (first from the left), and experts such as Zhang Xiuhai, deputy director of the Institute of Grass and Flowers (third from the right), and Huang Conglin, an expert in chrysanthemums (second from the right), engaged in an exchange and discussion.

Taste the fresh chrysanthemums used for tea

The Perennial Flower Research Laboratory of the Institute of Grassland and Flower Science, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences (hereinafter referred to as the "Research Laboratory") has continuously delivered outstanding results in its scientific research and application work centered on chrysanthemums. The research team of the laboratory has been deeply engaged in the field of chrysanthemums for many years. From resource collection and preservation to new variety breeding, from key technology research and development to industrial promotion, they have established a scientific research and application system covering the entire chrysanthemum industry chain, promoting the development of the chrysanthemum industry towards high quality and diversification, and injecting strong impetus into the industry.

Full-chain scientific research layout: Coordinated breakthroughs in resources, varieties and technologies

The research laboratory has always taken "application-oriented" as its core, building a scientific research framework around the entire industrial chain of chrysanthemums, and achieving coordinated breakthroughs in the three major areas of resource preservation, variety breeding and technology research and development. Chen Dongliang from the research laboratory represented the chrysanthemum team to present a report on "Chrysanthemum Breeding and Application". He stated that in terms of resource collection and preservation, the team has currently established a complete chrysanthemum resource garden at the Shunyi base. Through a combination of tissue culture preservation in vitro at the main campus and field cultivation preservation at the base, a total of 2,398 chrysanthemum resources of various types have been preserved. At the same time, a database containing trait data and molecular information has been constructed, laying a solid foundation for subsequent research. Based on this, the team further carried out resource evaluation and utilization, screening out characteristic resources with high contents of medicinal and health care components such as high monosaccharide and high chlorogenic acid, strong stress resistance, as well as edible chrysanthemum resources with excellent taste, providing high-quality "materials" for variety breeding.

Variety cultivation is the core strength area of the research laboratory. Currently, more than 500 chrysanthemum varieties have been cultivated, among which 24 varieties have passed the approval of Beijing's forest tree superior varieties, and 4 have obtained the national new variety rights. In the field of chrysanthemum for tea, the "Yutai No.1" cultivated by the team can be regarded as an industry benchmark.
Huang Conglin, a researcher at the Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, said As one of the few early-flowering tea chrysanthemum varieties in China, it has broken through the bottleneck that tea chrysanthemums in northern regions cannot overwinter on land. Traditional Hangzhou White Chrysanthemum and Gongju chrysanthemum, due to their late flowering period, are prone to total failure when blooming in Beijing due to frost damage. However, "Yutai No.1" can be harvested before National Day and has the advantages of high medicinal component content, good upright nature, and stable yield. At present, the national planting scale has reached over 100,000 mu, accounting for more than 10% of the domestic tea chrysanthemum planting area.

The cultivation of edible chrysanthemums and ornamental chrysanthemums has also achieved fruitful results. Chen Dongliang introduced that in response to the distinctive edible chrysanthemum culture of Beijing, the team has cultivated five edible chrysanthemum varieties suitable for industrialization, all of which have been approved as high-quality forest tree varieties in Beijing. These varieties possess both edible, health care and ornamental values, making them excellent choices for leisure tourism and the construction of characteristic gardens. In terms of ornamental chrysanthemums, the three main promoted varieties of green chrysanthemums, namely "Yanshan Jinghong", "Yanshan Jingfen" and "Yanshan Jinghuang", have uniform flowering periods and excellent ornamental effects. They are suitable for ground cover planting and flower bed arrangement. Not only have they grown well in the demonstration planting in the research laboratory park, but they have also been successfully applied to the flower bed arrangement on Chang 'an Avenue during the National Day holiday in 2025. As the category with the highest degree of industrialization in the market, the team has approved 12 varieties of cut chrysanthemums. Some varieties have entered the testing stage. Currently, it has authorized well-known domestic flower enterprises to produce seedlings, accelerating the promotion of market application.

Technological research and development provides "hardcore support" for industrial development. The team, in response to the pain points of the chrysanthemum industry, has integrated efficient propagation technologies for high-quality seedlings. By combining virus detection, virus removal treatment and tissue culture propagation techniques, they ensure the quality of seedlings. Overcome the year-round production technology of edible chrysanthemums, break the traditional limitation that edible chrysanthemums are only supplied in autumn, and promote their industrial development. Considering the labor-intensive nature of the chrysanthemum industry, the joint enterprises and bases have developed supporting mechanized equipment for weeding, planting, picking, etc., to facilitate the "lightweight and simplified" transformation of the industry and effectively reduce labor costs." Chen Dongliang said.

Multi-scenario industrialization promotion: From demonstration in Beijing to nationwide radiation

Relying on high-quality varieties and advanced technologies, the research laboratory actively promotes the transformation and application of chrysanthemum research achievements, forming an industrial promotion pattern of "demonstration in Beijing and radiation across the country". This not only creates a benchmark for characteristic industries but also drives the agricultural economic development of many regions. Chen Dongliang introduced that in Beijing, the team has focused on developing three major characteristic chrysanthemum industry projects: Sihai Tea Chrysanthemum, Xibaidian Edible Chrysanthemum and Yongning Cut Flower Chrysanthemum. These three projects have all formed a "one village, one product" development model, establishing unique village brands based on the chrysanthemum industry, and have become typical cases of rural revitalization and agricultural characteristic development in Beijing.
In terms of cross-regional cooperation, the research laboratory has established a tea chrysanthemum demonstration base in Nanyang, Henan Province, and is conducting in-depth cooperation around the cultivation of tea chrysanthemums and the development of high-value-added products. At present, the enterprises affiliated with this base have become one of the most industrialized tea chrysanthemum enterprises in China. They not only drive local farmers' employment and income growth, but also form a mature cooperation model of "research + enterprise + base", providing replicable experience for other regions. In addition, the team has also carried out demonstration and promotion work of chrysanthemums in many places across the country, delivering high-quality varieties and technologies to more regions and promoting the large-scale development of the chrysanthemum industry.

In addition to industrial application, the research laboratory also actively expands the influence of chrysanthemum research achievements through exhibitions, events and other scenarios. As early as during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the off-season cultivated chrysanthemums and chrysanthemum bonsai developed by the team were successfully applied. In 2019, I took the lead in completing the layout of the exhibition hall of the Beijing Academy of Agricultural Sciences at the Beijing Pavilion of the International Horticultural Exposition. In recent years, the team has continuously participated in the Beijing Chrysanthemum Exhibition, science popularization activities and industry-themed conferences every year. It not only showcases the latest scientific research achievements but also popularizes the cultural and industrial value of chrysanthemums to the public, further expanding the application scenarios and social recognition of the chrysanthemum industry.

Chrysanthemum varieties that can be used for essential oil extraction

Focus on market demand: Dual-wheel drive of Yufa experimentation and future research and development

In response to the requirements of seed industry innovation and the diversified demands of the market, the research laboratory has been constantly adjusting its research and development direction. The experimental work to be carried out in the Yufa area in 2025 and the future research and development plan demonstrate the development concept of "closely following the market and making forward-looking layouts".
Chen Dongliang introduced that in the Yufa area, in 2025, the team will focus on advancing two tasks: First, conducting variety tests of green chrysanthemums. Previously, on-site inspections have been completed, and six varieties have passed the raw material screening and are awaiting approval. Second, we will carry out the display of edible chrysanthemum varieties and the testing of new cut chrysanthemum varieties. Among them, the new cut chrysanthemum varieties, due to their relatively late flowering period (expected to bloom by the end of October), will be given priority for application and display in the future. It is worth mentioning that the six chrysanthemum varieties tested by the team in Yufa all have the characteristics of concentrated flowering periods (around October) and beautiful plant shapes, which are very suitable for application in the flower-viewing scenarios during the National Day holiday, further meeting the market demand for ornamental chrysanthemums.

Zhang Xiuhai, deputy director of the Institute of Grass and Flowers, said that in the future, the team's research and development plans will focus more on "high quality" and "competitiveness". In the field of chrysanthemum for tea, the team will focus on cultivating high-quality varieties suitable for mechanized production. In the direction of edible chrysanthemums, we will continue to develop varieties with good taste to meet consumers' higher demands for eating experience. The research and development of green chrysanthemum focuses on multi-resistant polymer varieties to enhance the variety's stress resistance. In the field of cut chrysanthemums, the goal is to "compete with foreign varieties", cultivate distinctive and excellent cut flower varieties, and break the monopoly of foreign varieties in the high-end cut flower market. At present, the team has cultivated a series of excellent varieties and conducted multi-point tests. Subsequently, they will optimize the performance of the varieties based on the test results to promote more "good domestic chrysanthemums" to the market.
(Images in this article are from Ma Qiang and the Institute of Grass and Flowers)

Reporter: Xu Wei, Ma Qiang (Intern) Editor: Li Ying Production: Qi Wen