Protection Status and Countermeasures of New Plant Varieties in Sichuan Province

With the implementation of the Seed Law of the People's Republic of China and the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, a sound protection system for new plant varieties has been established in China. As of the end of 2025, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA) had granted 7,194 new plant variety rights nationwide, including 80 for forest and grass varieties in Sichuan province. After conducting multi-dimensional data analysis, including the number of annual authorizations, composition of variety right holders, plant categories, and comparisons with other provinces, the following conclusions are drawn: Sichuan’s authorized varieties have increased rapidly since 2021, mainly developed jointly by research institutes and enterprises, covering 21 genera with prominent advantages in Zanthoxylum breeding, and highly aligned with the "Tianfu Forest Granary" construction. However, Sichuan ranks medium-low nationwide, facing challenges such as unbalanced application distribution, insufficient protection awareness, and difficulties in law enforcement and rights defense. Corresponding countermeasures (strengthening publicity, improving mechanisms, standardizing law enforcement, and enhancing breeding with policy incentives) are proposed to promote the protection of forest and grass varieties and the high-quality development of related industries in Sichuan province.