April 20th is the 87th birthday of NWAFU. At noon on this day, students tasted "chocolate buns" for free in the 12 canteens of both north and south campuses and Institute of Soil and Water Conservation to celebrate the 87th birthday of our university.

More than 20000 special steamed buns are a birthday gift dedicated to the university by the breeding team led by researcher Zhang Zhengmao.They are steamed buns made of NWAFU’s black and large ear wheat flour. Because the color is close to chocolate, students affectionately call them "chocolate buns."

Researcher Zhang Zhengmao talked with students about wheat breeding

      Teacher Zhang Zhengmao has been working in NWAFU for 40 years. He said that this year coincides with the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and the 87th anniversary of the founding of the university, "through this activity, I want to celebrate the birthday of my beloved school, thank for the scientific research conditions provided by the school. Secondly, I hope this activity can enhance the responsibility of our students to love agriculture, strengthen agriculture and prosper agriculture."

     It is understood that Mr. Zhang Zhengmao’s wheat breeding team currently has 3 professors, 1 lecturer, and more than 10 PhD and master students.It mainly carries out research and promotion work focusing on the innovation of excellent germplasm resources, drought resistance and quality breeding, biological nutrition enhancement breeding, high-yield green cultivation technology in colleges and universities, and the construction of overseas enterprise science and technology demonstration park, and has successively selected and bred series of new dryland wheat varieties such as Pubing 143, Pubing 9946, Pubing 151, and Pubing 322.The NWFU black and large ear wheat that the students tasted took 18 years of selection and breeding, and is currently undergoing production trials, and will soon enter the stage of variety certification and large-scale promotion.

Translated by: Ruan Shuling

Proofread by: Zhang Xiaorong