(Ecns.cn) – The yield of China's newly-developed hybrid rice breed, known as super rice, has set a new world record in rice output, exceeding 900 kg per mu (0.067 hectare).
The rice breed DH2525 (Y two superior No 2) developed by Yuan Longping, a leading agricultural scientist known as the "Father of Hybrid Rice" who began developing hybrid rice in the 1960s, produced a harvest of 926.6 kg per mu during its trial planting in Leifeng Village of Longhui County in central China's Hunan Province, said the provincial academy of agriculture on Monday.
Previously this had been Yuan's birthday wish when he turned 80 last year, at which time he also announced a plan to cultivate a new type of hybrid rice yielding about 13.5 tons a hectare by 2012, increasing to 15 tons a hectare by 2020.
According to Yuan, the success of each rice breed requires three pre-requisites: excellent seeds, scientific cultivation and fertile farmland. If the DH2525 super rice is to be put into practice nationwide, these three conditions must be satisfied to achieve a yield of more than 900 kg per mu.
Cheng Shihua, researcher and head of the China National Rice Research Institute, admits that Hunan Province is the best place to cultivate the newly-developed rice breed, as the local climate, water and land conditions are different from other regions of China, implying that a nationwide promotion might be difficult.
On the question of whether the hybrid rice is genetically modified, Yuan disclosed that there is no transgenic technology involved in his super rice. He added that hybrid rice has solved China's food shortages, and he will continue to ensure that the taste of super rice is as good as normal rice.
Hybrid rice plants are vigorous crop varieties that give a 25 percent higher yield because the seeds are produced from very diverse parents. Statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture show that by 2010 super hybrid rice accounted for nearly 25 percent of the total acreage in China.
