Chinese people's rice bowls must be in their own hands.

On January 10, the National Science and Technology Award Conference was held in the solemn Great Hall of the people. The achievement of "two-line hybrid rice technology research and application" obtained by our research team won the special prize for scientific and technological progress. when awarding the award, General Secretary Xi Jinping said cordially to me: "Thank you for your new contribution. I hope you will keep up your efforts and scale new heights!"

We are greatly encouraged by the encouragement and expectations of the General Secretary. Although I am eighty years old, I still want to be an old horse in the stable. Last year, our fourth phase of super hybrid rice with a yield of 1000 kg per mu has made new progress of 988.1 kg / mu. We strive to achieve the target of 1000 kg per mu by 2015 and make new contributions to food security and peace in China and the world at large.

In 1964, China began to study hybrid rice. At that time, classical genetics believed that self-pollination of self-pollinated crops had no degeneration, so there was no heterosis in hybridization. However, through research, we successfully realized the "three-line" matching in 1973, followed by the successful research of matching technology. in 1976, hybrid rice began to be rapidly popularized in a large area of the country. The yield of hybrid rice is about 20% higher than that of conventional rice. in recent years, the annual planting area of hybrid rice has exceeded 240 million mu, accounting for 57% of the total rice planting area, while the yield accounts for about 65% of the total rice production. The annual output of hybrid rice is about 2.5 million tons, which can feed an additional 70 million people every year.

I always think that doing scientific research is like a high jump, jumping over a height, and there are new heights waiting for you. If you don't keep jumping, you will sooner or later be behind others. To continue to explore and improve the level of heterosis utilization in rice, it is necessary to further open up ideas and carry out innovative research. In 1986, we formulated the breeding strategy of hybrid rice, and divided the breeding of hybrid rice into three stages: the utilization of heterosis among varieties based on three-line method, the utilization of intersubspecific heterosis dominated by two-line method and the utilization of distant heterosis dominated by one-line method. Each new stage is a new breakthrough, which will push the yield of rice to a higher level. In 1987, two-line hybrid rice research was included in the national "863" plan, which is a national cooperative project. Dozens of experts from 16 cooperative units formed a research group to tackle key problems. In 1995, two-line hybrid rice made important progress. Compared with three-line hybrid rice at the same ripening stage, the yield was increased by 5% and 10%, and the rice quality was generally better. This research is original in China, and its success is a major breakthrough in crop breeding, which once again reflects the intelligence and wisdom of Chinese hybrid rice scientists and technicians, and continues to make China's hybrid rice research level maintain the world's leading level.

There is no end to scientific exploration. At present, many factors causing instability in the world include the problem of food security. in order to meet the food demand of the growing population in the 21 century and ensure food security, we embarked on a journey to study super hybrid rice in 1997. We have followed the morphological model and breeding technique route of super-high-yield hybrid rice aimed at improving photosynthesis efficiency, and carried out research on key problems. In 2000, 2004 and 2012, we have achieved the goals of 700 kg per mu in the first stage, 800 kg per mu in the second stage and 900 kg in the third phase. Now, we plan to cultivate a new type of super high yield combination with high lodging resistance by increasing plant height and making use of strong intersubspecific heterosis. In 2013, the key research team won the first battle. On September 28th, the Ministry of Agriculture organized an expert group to accept the demonstration piece of the fourth phase super hybrid rice pioneer combination "Y Liangyou 900" in Niu Village, Yangguao Township, Longhui County, Hunan Province, with an average yield of 988.1 kg per mu, setting a new record for large area yield.

At present, we have three major R & D projects for the development of hybrid rice: the super high-yield project of super hybrid rice, the high-yield project of "planting, three and four" and the "Trinity" project.

The project of super high yield of super hybrid rice. According to the theory of light energy utilization rate of rice, 5% of the solar radiation can be turned into organic matter. If you discount this theoretical figure by 2.5%, the radiation amount of rice in one season in Changsha can reach 1500 kg. Therefore, after 1000 kg is realized, it is theoretically possible to climb to a higher yield. We boldly assume that the yield potential of semi-tall stalk varieties with a plant height of about 1.3 meters can reach 15-16 tons per hectare, the yield potential of new plant-type long-stalk varieties with a plant height of 1.5 meters can reach 17-18 tons per hectare, and the yield potential of super-tall culm hybrid rice with a plant height of 1.8-2.0 meters can reach 18-20 tons per hectare. Starting from the improvement of plant type, it is necessary to cultivate new combinations with good shape, moderate tightness, strong tillering ability and little difference between main panicle and tillering panicle. In order to solve the high lodging resistance of super-high-yield long-stalk varieties, the root system is well developed by using strong intersubspecific combinations, and the rice ear should droop to lower the center of gravity; using rice resources with very hard stalks and short and thick basal internodes with heavy feet and light feet, it is possible to select super-high-yield combinations with high lodging resistance.

The high-yield project of "planting three crops and four". The "planting, three and four" high-yield project is a project that uses the technical achievements of super hybrid rice and strives to use three mu of land to produce the total grain yield of four mu of land. Hunan Province aims to develop to 15 million mu by 2016, with an output equivalent to 20 million mu of grain output in 2005, equivalent to an increase of 5 million mu of farmland. The "planting, three production and four" high-yield project has always been highly valued and supported by the Hunan provincial party committee and provincial government. it was first launched and implemented in 20 counties in the province in 2007, and by 2013 it has been implemented in 51 counties (cities and districts), with a demonstration area of 8.822 million mu and a total increase of 1.095 billion kg of rice. At present, Anhui, Henan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou and other provinces have also actively followed up the implementation of the "three crops and four" high-yield projects. It is expected that the country will develop to 60 million mu in 2020, with an original grain output of 80 million mu, equivalent to an increase of 20 million mu of farmland.

The "Trinity" project. Through the application of super hybrid rice technology, the "Trinity" project is a project that produces 360kg of grain per year in three fields, which is enough for a person's annual food rations. Hunan Province's goal is to develop to 5 million mu (about 9% of the province's arable land) by 2020 to produce grain that can feed 24% of the province's population. The "Trinity" project has been tested and demonstrated in many places in Hunan, Guangxi and Guangdong, among which the pilot work of Liling and Shimen in Hunan Province was initially successful in 2013.

"developing hybrid rice for the benefit of the people of the world" is the greatest wish and pursuit of my life. General Secretary Xi once said: the Chinese people's rice bowls must be in their own hands. In my opinion, there is absolutely no problem for Chinese people to support themselves on their own. To achieve the goal of the Chinese people supporting themselves by themselves, first, the red line of 1.8 billion mu cannot be broken. Second, the state should introduce better policies to strengthen agriculture and benefit farmers, and step up efforts to support agriculture. The third is scientific planting. In addition, China is not on the list of the world's top ten seed companies at present. We should combine government forces with market forces to promote the long-term and rapid development of China's seed industry, and support several good enterprises to enhance their international competitiveness, go abroad and seize the international market.

At present, China's grain output has increased for 10 years in a row, but there are no people farming in rural areas, how to ensure food security? Of course, China's policy of strengthening agriculture and benefiting farmers is very good, but to improve it, it is wrong to subsidize farmland per mu, and it should be directly subsidized according to the amount of grain sold by the peasants, so that we cannot get that subsidy for abandoning wasteland. Through this method, we can better promote the enthusiasm of farmers to grow grain.

When we used to study super rice, in the 1970s and 1980s, we first had to solve the problem of food and clothing. Now that the standard of living has improved, people ask not only to have enough to eat, but also to eat well, and the quality goal is put in the first place in the research. One measure of the super hybrid rice we are breeding now is that it can at least meet the second-grade high-quality rice standard of the Ministry of Agriculture.

The Chinese people's rice bowls must be in their own hands. I have two dreams. The first dream is the dream of enjoying the cool under Hexia. We are working hard to realize it step by step. Now we are tackling the fourth phase of super hybrid rice with a yield of 1,000 kilograms per mu in a large area of demonstration fields. The plan is set for 2020, but according to the current progress, it is expected to be realized in the past two years. As long as I am in good health, I will work hard to breed the fifth super hybrid rice until my dream of enjoying the cool under he Xia is realized. The second dream is the dream of hybrid rice covering the whole world. There are 2.25 billion mu of rice in the world. In 2013, Chinese hybrid rice was popularized in India, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the United States, Brazil and other countries with an area of more than 6 million hectares, equivalent to 90 million mu. The average yield per hectare is about 2 tons higher than that of local fine varieties. At present, hybrid rice accounts for less than 15 percent of the total rice area. if half of the world's rice fields are planted with hybrid rice, the increased grain production, calculated on the basis of an average increase of two tons per hectare, can feed 400 million to 500 million people.