Sources from the Office for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants of the Ministry of Agriculture show that by July 31 this year, a total of 5,099 applications for new plant varieties have been filed in China, of which, 1,746 have been granted.

More than 95 percent of the applications are filed by domestic scientific research institutes, enterprises and individuals, indicating the further improvement made in China’s new plant variety research. China is paying more attention to the application of the new plant variety rights. The four major agricultural provinces of Sichuan, Shandong, Henan and Jilin rank the top four in the application list, outnumbering 400 each, with their combined applications exceeding 35 percent of the nation’s total. Meanwhile, traditional field crops are still the focus of application, rating 90 percent of the total applications.

Related experts says that it is a notable phenomenon to see foreign enterprises strengthening their efforts of filing applications of new plant variety rights in China. Up to date, Holland has filed nearly 100 applications of new plant variety rights in China, the largest number among all foreign countries.