Wheat safety production is crucial to ensuring a safe food supply. Chai Shouxi, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and professor at the College of Agronomy, Gansu Agricultural University, said in an exclusive interview with a China News Service reporter on the 5th that in recent years, Chinese wheat has frequently suffered from low-temperature freezing damage, which has even occurred alternately in major winter wheat producing areas for consecutive years. Freezing damage is devastating, and the losses are often greater than those from drought, "harvest rain," and pests and diseases. It often determines whether there is a harvest at all, rather than whether the harvest is large or small. Freezing damage has risen to the number one disaster affecting wheat and fruit tree safety production in local areas.

　　As an agricultural science and technology worker, Chai Shouxi has always focused his work on the agricultural field. At this year's National People's Congress and CPPCC sessions, all four proposals he submitted were related to agriculture, among which the "Proposal on Research, Development and Platform Construction for the Prevention and Control of Low-Temperature Freezing Damage in Wheat" is particularly urgent.

　　Chai Shouxi said that wheat freezing damage refers to damage caused by subzero low temperatures, including winter freezing damage and spring freezing damage. Spring freezing damage is commonly known as "late spring cold," which disappears only after the final frost period in various places. The harm of late spring cold is far more serious than winter freezing damage, and most wheat freezing damage in China in recent years has also been caused by late spring cold.

　　"In recent years, wheat freezing damage in China has occurred almost every year, and even multiple times a year. From December to before the final frost period in May of the following year, people are constantly on edge. Once freezing damage occurs, there is little room for rescue, and the effect of remedial measures is limited, leaving us very passive. We should make up our minds to solve this problem," Chai Shouxi said.

　　Chai Shouxi analyzed, "At present, our understanding of the resistance mechanism of wheat to late spring cold is not yet comprehensive, and the response technology system is not yet mature and sound; however, extensive production practice shows that different varieties of winter wheat differ significantly in their ability to resist late spring cold. After late spring cold occurs, some varieties remain unharmed, while others suffer severe death and a high proportion of total crop failure."

　　Chai Shouxi explained that most varieties seriously harmed by late spring cold are semi-winter or spring-leaning varieties, while winter varieties are relatively safe. Therefore, selecting varieties with strong resistance to late spring cold is the ** line of defense for prevention and also the simplest and most effective ** approach. In production, improper selection of wheat varieties and unreasonable layout are the primary causes of late spring cold damage. It is also related to cultivation factors such as early sowing and excessive seedlings, late sowing and weak seedlings, low sowing quality, extensive field management, and planting methods, as well as the timing of late spring cold, differences in wheat growth progress, the combination of cold and drought, and differences in farmland microclimates under different terrains and landforms.

　　In this regard, Chai Shouxi suggested promptly launching a major research project on resistance to late spring cold in winter wheat. Research should be conducted to formulate technical standards for the late spring cold resistance performance of winter wheat varieties, physiological, biochemical and genetic control mechanisms, cultivation prevention and control technologies, chemical control technologies, and technologies combining good varieties with good methods.

　　Chai Shouxi also proposed establishing a national base for identifying the cold resistance of winter wheat varieties. The base should promptly evaluate the cold resistance of winter wheat varieties with large application areas in major producing regions, providing a basis for various places to select varieties resistant to late spring cold. The state should issue relevant policies requiring that, in the future, all new winter wheat varieties applying for national and provincial approval must submit cold resistance identification results from certified institutions, and these results should serve as the main basis for determining the suitable promotion range.