The Taicang booth at the 25th Jiangsu International Agriexpo. [Photo/WeChat account: tcfbgw]

Taicang organized 10 companies and public institutions to participate in the 25th Jiangsu International Agriexpo and the 2026 Suzhou Agri-Tech Conference from April 24 to 26, focusing on the seed industry, smart agriculture, and biomanufacturing.

The deep integration of technology and agriculture stood out in the Taicang booth. A series of AI-driven systems, including an agricultural machinery fault analysis system, grain drying system, irrigation robots, and weather monitoring stations, illustrated a future-oriented vision of digitalized farming.

Lu Wei, a professor from Nanjing Agricultural University, introduced an intelligent weeding device co-developed by his team in collaboration with institutions in Suzhou and Taicang. Featuring a lightweight design and highly accurate weed detection and removal technology, the system drew strong interest and is expected to be finalized by the end of September.

Inside the exhibition hall, new breakthroughs in vegetable and flower breeding were also on display. In addition, Taicang's cotton breeding research is gaining renewed momentum. Researchers have applied advanced techniques to develop high-quality upland cotton germplasm and are exploring full-chain industrial applications – from seeds to yarns and further to organic cotton garments produced through order-based manufacturing.

Notably, three local cafes from Taicang also participated in the expo, using coffee as a medium to connect rural lifestyle experiences with local specialties such as yellow rice wine. Their innovative beverage offerings highlighted the growing integration of agriculture and tourism, reflecting a diversified and vibrant rural development ecosystem in Taicang.