A popular science activity themed on "What do plants eat" was held on Sept 19 by the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Chinese Society of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer Sciences and the National Fertilizer Quality Supervision and Inspection Center (Beijing), attracting more than 100 primary school students and their parents as participants.

The activity was a response to the Agricultural Science Open Day launched by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences on the occasion of the 3rd Chinese Farmers Harvest Festival and National Science Day 2020.

Wang Xiufang, deputy head of the institute, attended the event and extended a warm welcome to the participating students and parents. She hoped that the activity would arouse students’ interest in agriculture and agricultural scientific research.

Wang Hong, research fellow and head of the National Fertilizer Quality Supervision and Inspection Center (Beijing), gave a lecture on the science of soil, plant nutrition and fertilizer. Wang introduced the plants commonly seen in daily life and explained how they take in nutrients from soil.

In the observation session, more than 10 experts from the institute showed students soil profiles, plants, fertilizers and other specimen samples.

This year’s Agricultural Science Open Day event also used live webcasts and popular science videos to promote the scientific, technological and innovative progress made by the institute.

An edible fungus live streaming popular science activity was planned by the institute’s edible fungus genetic breeding and cultivation team to help the public gain an understanding about how the funguses grow.