How to become a Seedling Propagator
Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 种苗繁育员
Also called: Vegetable Seedling Grower, Flower Seedling Grower, Mulberry and Fruit Tree Nursery Worker, Tea Seedling Grower, Rubber Tree Seedling Grower
Raises and prepares crop seedlings with nursery facilities and tools.
Main tasks
- Collecting or growing seed, scions, rootstocks and other propagation material and storing and treating it
- Cleaning and disinfecting nursery facilities, preparing seedbeds and containers, turning and filling seedbeds or mixing growing media into containers
- Sowing, taking cuttings, grafting or inoculating propagation material
- Controlling temperature, light and humidity with nursery facilities to manage plant growth
- Watering, fertilising, controlling pests, diseases and weeds and hardening off seedlings until they are ready
- Lifting seedlings, checking their quality and packing them
Pay · AI and this job
- Median pay in China: CN¥41,000 a year (2025).
- Middle half: CN¥31,500 to CN¥53,600. One in ten earn less than CN¥26,000 and one in ten more than CN¥71,300.
- This is the figure for the mid group Agricultural Production Workers, not for this job alone.
- National figure: wage prices of enterprise employees from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) enterprise pay survey. The public sector and the self-employed are not covered.
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Who does this work
- The census group Agricultural Production Workers holds 18.04% of everyone employed in China; 47.5% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
- 12.8% are under 35, 42.1% are 35 to 54 and 45.1% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 50 to 54.
- Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.
Related jobs
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Questions people ask
How much does a Seedling Propagator earn in China?
Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥41,000 a year (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), 2025). The public sector and the self-employed are not covered. It is the figure for the mid group Agricultural Production Workers.
Will AI change the work of a Seedling Propagator?
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS): 2025 enterprise pay survey information: wage prices of enterprise employees by occupation mid group, and digital occupations (P10 to P90 annual CNY) (2025 (published 2026-07-08)), retrieved 5 October 2026
- National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Population Census Yearbook 2020, long-form tables 4-6 and 4-7 (employed by occupation mid group, sex, age) (2020 Census long form (10% sample)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Sources: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition, public consultation draft), Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation and National Bureau of Statistics; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 2025 enterprise pay survey information; Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, 2025 labour market wage prices; National Bureau of Statistics of China (www.stats.gov.cn), 2020 Population Census yearbook; Ministry of Education, vocational education major profiles (2022 revision) and undergraduate major catalogue (2025); Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, national vocational qualifications catalogue (2021); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Figures processed by Peernovo. English text, translations and the matching of occupations to ISCO-08, majors, degree fields and qualifications by Peernovo.
Descriptions and tasks are Peernovo's own words, written from the facts in the Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition). Job titles and work types are the classification's own.
Updated 5 October 2026