China's performance in agricultural research frontier, agricultural sci-tech papers and patents ranks second in the world, according to the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS).

A report released at the Forum 2019 on Science and Technology for Agricultural and Rural Development in China, which opened on Wednesday in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, shows China follows only the U.S. in terms of contribution and influence in the frontiers of agricultural research.

The report by the Agricultural Information Institute of the CAAS analyzed the performances of 10 major countries, including the U.S., Britain, China, Germany and France.

Among the 62 research subjects and frontier fields, China ranked first in the segments of agricultural resources and environment and agricultural information and engineering, and second and third in the fields of crops, livestock, veterinary medicine and agricultural produce processing.

However, China's performance in the research of plant protection, forestry and fisheries lagged behind leading nations, says the report.

Another report released at the forum shows China produced the most papers in agriculture, but the quality of the papers needed to be improved.

Chinese scientists' papers are most competitive in areas such as analytical and applied chemistry, agricultural engineering, food science and technology, veterinary medicine, biology and agricultural information technology.

China is the world's largest contributor of agricultural patents, with technological advantages in sectors such as animal breeding and management, crop pest control, agricultural machinery and equipment, animal nutrition and feed, plant nutrition and fertilizer.

However, China's applications for agricultural technology patents overseas are insufficient, which has hindered its technologies from going abroad, says the report.