Chinese research team uses color to enhance flower appeal

A Chinese research team has cultivated 80 colors of rapeseed flowers, creating new varieties aimed at boosting the integration of rapeseed tourism with rural development. Fu Donghui, a researcher at Jiangxi Agricultural University’s School of Agricultural Sciences, said his team developed five new flower colors this year, expanding the palette of ornamental rapeseed varieties from 75 in 2025 to 80.

Rapeseed fields are widely known for their bright yellow blossoms, which have become a major spring attraction across many rural areas. However, the dominance of a single color has posed challenges for the tourism industry.

“Most rapeseed flowers are yellow, and the lack of color diversity can easily lead to aesthetic fatigue for tourists,” Fu said. Developing new flower colors helps extend the appeal of rapeseed tourism and supports sustainable industry growth, he added.

Using pollen provided by a collaborator in Shifang, Sichuan province, the researchers employed hybridization, backcrossing and self-pollination techniques to recombine flower color genes from different rapeseed materials. Through years of targeted selection, the team gradually developed new color combinations.