Yuan Longping is full of confidence why the achievements of high-yielding hybrid rice are promising

Recently, the 100 mu demonstration project implemented by the new two-line hybrid rice combination "Chaoyouqian" at the base of Haitang District, Sanya City, Hainan Province, has reached an average yield of 941.79 kg per mu by experts, setting a record for rice in Hainan.

Yuan Longping, the project host and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, is "satisfied but not satisfied" to the acceptance result of the fifth phase of super rice in China. "High yield and higher yield" is the eternal theme of breeding, "he said."

As for the controversy caused by the previous large-scale yield reduction of "Liangyou 0293" in Anhui, Yuan Longping believes that to increase grain production, there should be not only good varieties, but also good fields, good methods, and good conditions. If the field is not good, it is difficult to achieve high yield even if there are good seeds. He said that fertile land is the foundation, just as the foundation must be laid first to build a tall building, and the higher the building is, the stronger the foundation is. If the state makes greater efforts to transform the medium-and low-yield fields, the yield of super rice will be increased.

Focus on high yield

In Sanya in May, the temperature was as high as more than 30 degrees. Yuan Longping arrived in Sanya from Beijing, got off the plane and took a bus to Haitang Base to inspect the "Chaoyuqian" rice and guide the scientific and technological personnel to make preparations for acceptance the next day.

"Chaoyouqian" is a new super hybrid rice combination with high yield and high quality, which has been selected by Yuan Longping and his scientific research team for many years. In order to better understand its characters and speed up its popularization, the National Hybrid Rice Engineering and Technology Research Center has set up 62 100-mu demonstration films in 46 counties (cities) across the country this year. As the southern breeding base of rice breeding in China, Sanya has two demonstration bases, and Haitang Base is one of them.

Yuan Longping is very optimistic about the display of "Super Youqian" in Sanya, where he has spent the winter since he was sown on December 17 last year. In April this year, he also presided over an on-site observation meeting on super rice in Sanya, inviting more than 40 super rice experts from 17 provinces and cities across the country to visit, in order to promote the development of the 100-mu demonstration of "Super Youqian" in Sanya and the mainland.

On the day of acceptance, Yuan Longping appeared at the scene again. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the harvested rice was sun-dried and the grain moisture was measured. It was not until the expert got the accurate acceptance result after repeated calculation that he was satisfied with leaving.

Before he left, he said that the growth period of rice in Sanya was more than 10 days shorter than that in the mainland, with a plant height of 10 centimeters and one less leaf. "it seems that the 'Chaoyou Thousand' has more advantages in the inland provinces, and it is possible to achieve the target of 16 tons per hectare of demonstration planting."

The achievements of hybrid rice are obvious to all.

Why is Yuan Longping, who is already in his 80s, still so obsessed with super rice breeding? "the country needs me and the people need me. As long as I am in good health, I will continue to climb on the road of super rice innovation." That's his answer.

Previously, the large-scale yield reduction of "Liangyou 0293" in Anhui caused various doubts and disputes among netizens about super rice, but Yuan Longping believed that super hybrid rice should not be denied because of problems with individual varieties, and the achievements of hybrid rice research in China are obvious to all.

Japan is the first country in the world to carry out super rice research. Over the past 34 years, its 27 million mu of high-quality rice fields have an average yield of 450kg per mu. In 2014, China has 440 million mu of rice, including 250 million mu of hybrid rice, with an average yield of 451kg per mu. Yuan Longping believes that this is already a very good level, because 70% of China's medium-and low-yield fields, indicating that super rice has played an important role.

Feng Keshan, a retired senior agronomist, discovered male sterile plants of wild rice in 1970, which made an important contribution to the successful cultivation of three-line hybrid rice in 1973. He told the reporter about the hardships of hybrid rice breeding under the leadership of Yuan Longping. "the successful cultivation of three-line hybrid rice is the result of tens of thousands of hybrid experiments conducted by more than 30 scientific research institutions in more than 10 provinces and cities across the country with thousands of varieties and 'wild failure'."

The International Rice Research Institute carried out super rice research in 1989 and planned to achieve a rice yield of 12.5 tons per hectare by the year 2000. however, this goal has not been achieved so far. In 2005, Australia had the highest rice yield per mu in the world, with an average of only 10 tons per hectare, that is, 670 kg per mu, compared with 200 kg in India and less than 200 kg in Thailand.

The yield per unit area of rice in China has been in the lead in the world. Yuan Longping said that if the yield of super rice demonstration reaches 1000 kilograms per mu, the 30 per cent discount for large-scale promotion is 700kg, or 10.5tons per hectare. If the yield reaches 700 kg per mu in the middle-and low-yield fields, it will be a great leap.

An objective view of super rice

For the previous online criticism of super rice, experts believe that many views are very one-sided and fail to look at the problem objectively, fairly and scientifically. "there is no doubt about the role of hybrid rice in promoting China's rice production and ensuring national food security." Zhou Zhikui, director of Hunan seed Bureau, said. In recent years, the breeding level of super rice in Hunan has been improved rapidly, not only in yield but also in quality. "

In recent years, the research of super rice in China has made good achievements, but the resistance of seeds will be different in different regions, and the effect will change with the passage of time and the change of pathogens. Researcher Wang Feng, director of the Rice Research Institute of the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said that super rice should not be killed with a single blow because of a problem.

So, how should we treat the gap between the demonstration of super rice and the actual planting yield of farmers? In this regard, experts believe that the demonstration of high yield, in addition to seed factors, there are good fields and good cultivation management. At present, most of the rice fields in China are medium-and low-yield fields, and it is difficult to achieve the yield of demonstration fields if they are planted in a large area of millions or tens of millions of mu.

"most of the farmers in China's rural areas are old people, so it is difficult for them to master and make good use of modern planting and management techniques. Coupled with the low income from growing grain, farmers are not willing to make more efforts in management. This is also an important reason for the gap. " Wang Feng said.

"ordinary people can be forgiven for not knowing anything about scientific farming. As a mass media that spreads science, they should not only focus on facts, but also stress science in their reports, otherwise they will mislead readers." Deng Guofu, vice president of Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said.