Introduction

The Oil Crops Research Institute (OCRI) of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) is a national center specialized for oil crops research and development. It was established in 1960, sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA). The headquarter location of OCRI in Wuhan, named Baojian, was one of the originating sites of modern agricultural education and technology development in China as Mr Zhang Zhidong in late Qing Dynasty once first set up the Hubei Agronomy School in 1898 here. OCRI has rapeseed, soybean, peanut and sesame as its mandate crops with a mission to conduct basic and applied research which can lead to enhanced productivity and utilization of the oil crops. The current research fields cover germplasm, genetics, breeding, functional genomic, genetic engineering, safety assessment of genetic modified organisms (GMOS), plant nutrition and physiology, plant pathology, chemical analysis, food safety and product processing.

The institute has five research stations with desirable laboratory, greenhouse and field facilities, totally occupying 150 ha land. Based on OCRI, several national research centers have been set up including the National Center for Oil Crops Improvement, National Engineering and Technology Research Center for Rapeseed, Key Lab for Oil Crop Biology and Genetic Improvement of MOA, Quality Inspection and Testing Center for Oilseeds and Their Products of MOA, Key Lab for Mycotoxins Detection of MOA, Inspection and Testing Center of Environmental Biosafety of Transgenic Plants of MOA, and National Arachis Nursery. Three international joint laboratories have also set up at OCRI. Construction of these centers has considerably improved the research capacity. The editorial office of the Chinese Journal of Oil Crop Sciences and the Oil Crops Association of China are also affiliated to OCRI. Totally, 264 scientists and supporting staff are working in the institute including 82 senior scientists.

The institute has undertaken more than 1200 research projects supported by various funding sources including National 863 Plans, National 973 Plans, National Key Projects, National Natural Scientific Foundation and International Collaboration, and has been the nationwide leading or coordinating agency for many important projects. Remarkable progress has been made on research of germplasm, utilization of heterosis in rapeseed and sesame, genetic enhancement for oil content in oilseeds and resistance to Sclerotinia and to bacterial wilt in peanut, management of peanut viral diseases, genetic engineering, quality standards, food safety, and product progressing. Technology transfer has greatly improved the production of major oil crops in the country and several products have also been successfully transferred internationally. Up to date, more than 120 research achievements have been awarded, among which, 20 were awarded by the central government. In the comprehensive evaluation in 2010, OCRI ranked the 3rd among the agricultural research institutions (more than 1000) in China in terms of scientific innovation capacity.