China's canola seed strain sets yield record

(ECNS) -- A canola seed strain developed by China achieved a yield of 419.95 kilograms per mu (about 0.07 hectares) in Xiangyang City, Central China's Hubei Province, setting a national record.

Li Jiana, head of the yield measurement expert group, professor at the College of Agronomy and Biotechnology of Southwest University announced the achievement at a conference.

The strain, Zhongyouza 501, increases rapeseed planting density from 15,000 to 30,000 per mu. With an oil content exceeding 50 percent, the strain produces 211.57 kilograms of rapeseed oil per mu.

Bedsides high yield, the strain is also resistant to disease and collapse, and suitable for mechanized harvesting.

Zhongyouza 501 marks a huge breakthrough in the core technology of the green revolution of China’s rapeseed industry, experts say. At present, the average yield of rapeseed in China is 138.5 kilograms per mu, with an oil content of 43 percent.

Canola seed is the most important oil crop in China, accounting for around 50 percent of the country's cooking oil production. At present, 70 percent of vegetable oil in China is imported from abroad, presenting a huge threat to the country's food security.

Zhongyouza 501 was developed by a team led by Wang Hanzhong, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and vice president of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, after years of research and experiments.