As one of the earliest institutions of higher education in agriculture in China, Nanjing Agricultural University (NAU) initiated its four-year bachelor program in agriculture in 1914, cooperating with Cornell University by both sharing textbooks and mutually admitting learning credits. Today, NAU is a national key university under administrative supervision of the Ministry of Education, China. It is a 211 Project institution and is listed in the National 985 Excellence Initiative Project. Furthermore, according to the Thomson Reuters Essential Science Indicators, NAU is among the top 1% institutions in the fields of Agricultural Science and Plant & Animal Science. In the 4th evaluation on discipline level conducted by Ministry of Education, Crop Science, Agricultural resources and environment, Plant Protection, and Agroforestry economy management at NAU are marked A+. NAU is also ranked the 11th in terms of the number of the A+ disciplines amongst all universities in China. Public Management, Food Science and Technology, and Horticulture are marked A or A-. NAU is a first-class university in China and is now pursuing a strategy to develop into one of the best agricultural universities in the world.

To secure global food security and achieve a better world agricultural system in the future, phenomics research is one of the fastest growing interdisciplinary research domains in life sciences. In order to build a world-leading international crop phenomics research hub, NAU has established the “Plant Phenotyping Research Center (PPRC)” in 2017. It is an independent, special, academic district at NAU and aims to develop an international center of excellence in plant phenomics, big-data driven biological research and related -omics supporting platforms.

Plant phenomics research

The plant phenomics research we conduct at PPRC NAU covers a wide range of crop related biological and chemical research, including cell biology, genetics, breeding, cultivation, agricultural practices, and computational -omics studies. 

We have received funding from the department of Science and Technology of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing Development and Reform Commission, and Nanjing Agricultural University research foundation. We have formed three phenomics programs that directly address strategically important objectives in food security, environmental protection, and agri-tech innovations.

Our mission is

To generate biological knowledge of crop plants through innovative research.

To apply our knowledge to benefit agriculture, the environment, and well-being.

To train students and scientists for the future challenges.

To engage with agricultural practitioners and the public to increase our impact.