Profile

Heads a national-level Eucommia engineering laboratory and has guided the establishment of over 6,000 mu of Eucommia breeding bases.

Story

Tian Xiangrong, born in July 1979 in Yuanling, Hunan, holds a PhD and is a professor. He is Director of the National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Eucommia Comprehensive Utilization Technology at Jishou University and Deputy Director of the Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Utilization in Higher Education Institutions. He also serves on the Seed Science and Technology Committee of the Botanical Society of China and the Hunan Provincial Forest and Grass Variety Certification Committee. He has long worked on the development and utilization of germplasm and plant resources and is a principal organizer of Eucommia industrialization research in the Wuling Mountains.

To address the problem that the gum threads in Eucommia samara hulls constrain embryo germination and make seedling raising difficult, he led his team to develop an integrated Eucommia samara dehulling machine achieving low-damage mechanical hulling, raising the germination rate from under 3% within three months in the natural state to over 80%, providing key equipment for large-scale Eucommia planting. In recent years he has led the laboratory in using Eucommia resources to build over 6,000 mu of germplasm breeding bases in central and western Hunan, and has promoted new models and products such as intercropping Eucommia with Huangjin tea, Eucommia tofu and Eucommia feed in western Hunan, serving rural revitalization.

Milestones

• In May 2025, attended the Eucommia Industry Development Seminar in Guigang, Guangxi, and was appointed expert adviser to the Southern Eucommia Industry Research Institute
• In May 2025, led a delegation to the State Key Laboratory of Forest Food Resources Exploration and Utilization at Zhejiang A&F University for an exchange visit
• In August 2025, hosted an inspection delegation from Sichuan Energy Development Group, advising on deep processing for the 4,000-mu Eucommia base in Tongjiang County
• In April 2025, visited Qingyuan, Guangdong, to inspect the Eucommia industry and study the promotion of improved varieties

Key Contributions

• Director of the National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Eucommia Comprehensive Utilization Technology at Jishou University, with more than 20 years of dedication to Eucommia research
• Guided the establishment of over 6,000 mu of Eucommia germplasm breeding bases and provided guidance to more than 30 partner enterprises
• His team developed an automatic Eucommia samara dehulling machine with a hulling rate of 60%-70%, raising the post-treatment germination rate to over 80% (versus under 3% within three months for unhulled seeds)
• Holds 25 granted patents; editor-in-chief of 4 monographs including Plant Resources of Linolenic Acid in China; published over 60 papers
• Led 2 National Natural Science Foundation of China projects; received 4 Hunan Provincial science and technology awards