Hybrid rice hits record yield in Yunnan province

The output of hybrid rice, grown with technology developed by the late "father of hybrid rice" Yuan Longping, at a demonstration base in Yunnan province has reached a record 17.8 metric tons per hectare, according to the Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Center.

The new record is near the target of 18 tons per hectare set by Yuan.

The record yield was reached at the 6.7-hectare demonstration base in Mengzi, Yunnan province in early September.

Meanwhile, the yield at the Gejiu base exceeded 17.5 tons per hectare, also a new record.

Experts from Yunnan Agricultural University, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Yangzhou University measured and assessed the production.

Yuan set the target of 18 tons per hectare of the super-hybrid rice in 2020, and the task has been entrusted to the plateau breeding demonstration base in Gejiu city of Yunnan.

At an altitude of 1,287 meters, with a yearly average temperature of 20 C and precipitation of 700 to 900 millimeters, plus a large irrigation system and flat land, the base has favorable conditions for achieving high yields.

Xu Jingbo, Party secretary of the Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Center, said that for a country with a large population and not so much arable land, achieving higher yields is a constant pursuit, while also realizing green, high-quality and efficient development.

"By teaching farmers the techniques, new technologies can be applied quickly, so that grain production can be further increased in the country," he said.

Thanks to the hybrid rice technology, China has managed to feed nearly 20 percent of the world's population with less than 9 percent of the world's arable land.