The 7th International Crop Science Congress Successfully Held in Beijing

On August 14–19, the 7^th International Crop Science Congress (7^th ICSC) was held in Beijing, China, which was hosted by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Crop Science Society of China, and organized by the Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. With the theme of “Crop science-innovation and sustainability”, 2419 delegates from 69 countries of five continents gathered together in Beijing and discussed the overall progress of crop science research. The Vice President of the ICSS, Dr. Shawn Kaeppler, and the Vice Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Jiayang Li delivered opening speeches on behalf of the ICSS and the host country China respectively.

Dr. Shawn Kaeppler expressed his appreciation to the local organizing committee of 7^th ICSC, and wished 7^th ICSC a complete success. Dr. Jiayang Li presented the current status, constrains and perspectives of agricultural development in China, shared the role of scientific innovation in modern agriculture development in China, and introduced the progress made in science and technology innovation and development by the Academy. He emphasized that crop science is an important component of agricultural science, and also the foundation of and key to ensure food security in the world. It has promoted sustainable utilization of agricultural resources and effectively protected agricultural environments. He wished the participants enjoy the academic exchanges, advance mutual cooperation, and make friends at 7th ICSC.

International Crop Science Congress, namely the Olympics for crop science communities, is the first of its event ever convened in China. The organizing committee tried their best to provide a platform for scientific communication, sharing, and experience. In total, 17 plenary speakers, 295 parallel session speakers, and 924 poster exhibitions focused on the following eight topics: crop germplasm and evolution, crop genetics and genomics, crop biotechnology, breeding and seed production, agronomy and crop physiology, climate change and sustainability, biofortification and quality, crop production and socioeconomic aspects. One special forum was set for the involvement of leading companies of crop science, and one workshop to discuss the development of soybean genomics. In the inerim, the 2016 Annual Meeting of Crop Science Society of China was held on August 17, 2016 to present the research achievements of crop science in China.

In connection with the 7^th ICSC, an exhibition was held during the congress demonstrating the developments of crop science industry in various aspects. Totally 49 companies or organizations come to show their new varieties, new products, new technologies and latest publications.

Five routes for field trip were set to impress the participants: Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences; The Crop Research Facility in CAS-Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences; National Experiment Station for Precision Agriculture, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences; Shangzhuang Experiment Station of China Agricultural University; Da Bei Nong Group. Participants could not only witness the modern facilities of crop science research, but also communicate with the scientists for future collaboration.

The 2^nd Outstanding Crop Scientists Awards was presented at 7^th ICSC. Established in 2012 of the 6^th ICSC, the Outstanding Crop Scientists Awards were nominated and voted by the International Crop Science Society to recognize and honor the most outstanding crop scientists from around the world. Five winners were awarded this time. Dr. Zhensheng Li from Chinese Academy of Sciences, the only winner of China, accepted the award in the closing ceremony.

The 7^th ICSC is closed, but the communication will always open. The next congress in 2020 will be held in Saskatoon, Canada.