Shao Jun Pang
Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.R.China. 7 Nanhai Rd., Qingdao 266071. Tel: 0086-532-82898831; handy: 18905320876
Correspondence: sjpang@qdio.ac.cn; Lab URL: www.caslivealgae.com
The big success of kelp farming in China is mostly attributed to the establishment of summer-seedling technique (hatchery), development of versatile cultivars (breeding) and efficient application of the so called long-line grow-out system (cultivation). Use of cultivars in Saccharina japonica has helped to increase the yield from 5-10 kg (fresh weight) per meter cultivation rope in the 1970s to the present 20-25 kg in 2022. Similar values have also been reached in Undaria pinnatifida amounting to ca. 20 kg m-1 at the end of harvesting season in northern farming region in China. Breeding is surely the most reliable pathway to increase the efficiency of kelp farming per hectare of open water. Genetic stability (inheritance) of agronomic characteristics in a cultivar determines its true value in production. For most of the kelp species, use of vegetatively propagated gametophytes for mating and seeding, would generate a sporophytic population with uniformed genotype when the parental gametophytes are genetically clear, free from other contaminations. Use of these gametophyte techniques (isolation, culture, mating choice, breeding scheme etc.) will surely become the main stream in guiding our future effort for generating cultivars with unique features. In this way, the goal of “unique cultivar for unique water” is expected to be realized in the near future.