The New Crops “Rapeseed Biology” academic forum took place on May 11th in theconference room of the State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, a collaborative project between Henan Province and the Ministry of Education at Henan University (HENU). The forum attracted nearly 100 participants, including experts and scholars from numerous universities and research institutions both domestically and internationally. Attendees from HENU included faculty and graduate students from the School of Life Sciences, the College of Agriculture, the State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, and the National Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology Breeding and Comprehensive Utilization. The opening ceremony of the forum was presided over by Professor Guoyong An, Executive Deputy Director of the State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement and the National Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology Breeding and Comprehensive Utilization.

Professor Lixin Zhang, Vice President of HENU, attended the forum and delivered a welcoming address. He extended a warm welcome and expressed his sincere gratitude to all the experts in attendance. Professor Zhang also briefly introduced the history of Henan University and the founding of the New Crops journal. Professor Youping Wang from Yangzhou University delivered an opening speech as a representative of the participating experts.

Professor Liang Guo from the Yazhouwan National Laboratory/Huazhong Agricultural University delivered a presentation titled “Rapeseed Innovation Team of Yazhouwan National Laboratory - Mission and Tasks”, providing a detailed overview of the team’s construction progress and future plans. Five distinguished guest speakers then shared their latest research findings in related fields: Professor Youping Wang from Yangzhou University, Researcher Xiaoli Tan from Jiangsu University, Researcher Qiong Hu from the Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Professor Qian Lunwen from Hunan Agricultural University, and Yonghua Li-Beisson, Senior Scientist at the French Atomic Energy Research Institute and Professor at Aix-Marseille University. The engaging presentations sparked widespread interest among the attending faculty and students, leading to active Q&A sessions and in-depth discussions. Professor Zhubing Hu, Executive Editor of New Crops, also addressed the forum, introducing the journal’s development and future plans.

The forum served as a high-level platform for academic exchange, facilitating the sharing of cutting-edge research findings in rapeseed biology and fostering collaboration and development within the field.