An introduction to “973”program related to entomology

Author of the article: LUO Chen; ZHANG Zhi-Li

Author's Workplace：Institute of Plant and Environment Protection, Beijing Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Science, Beijing 100097, China

Key Words：insect pests, biosafety, alien species, biocontrol, green chemical pesticide, Bomyx mori,agro-biodiversity

Abstract：The National Basic Research Program (also called “973” program) is China’s on-going national keystone basic research program, which was approved by the Chinese government in June 1997 and is organized and implemented by the Ministry of Science and Technology. Stipulation and implementation of the “973” program is an important decision of our country to carry out the two development strategies of “rejuvenating the country through science and technology" and “sustainable development", as well as to further reinforce basic research and science and technology work. It is an important measure of our country to achieve the great objectives of China’s economic, scientific & technology, and social development by 2010～2050. The “973” program involving entomology was intruduced in this paper, which included Studies on mechanisms and control of destructive diseases and pests of major crops; biosafety of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in agriculture; iinvasion biology and control strategy of alien species in agriculture and forestry; the exploitation of novel microbial genes and their molecular mechanism for pest biocontrol; leading structures and action targets for green chemical pesticide; study of the functional genomes for the main economic traits of domesticated silkworm (Bomyx mori) and their molecular improvement; principle and method of agro-biodiversity for pest control and germplasm conservation; and basic research on outbreak mechanism and sustainable management for agricultural pest insects.