Yuan Longping Says Super Rice Resistance Has Reached an Intermediate Level
On the morning of October 13, in the super rice experimental field of the Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Center, Yuan Longping, who had just gotten out of the car, left the crowd behind and walked straight into the experimental field to carefully examine the rice. Even though he had come to look just two days earlier, he still seemed uneasy.
The rice in the demonstration field had already been mostly harvested. Two days earlier, Yuan Longping had announced here that the new super rice variety “Chaoyou 1000” mid-season rice had been successfully planted as a demonstration in the urban area of Changsha, with the highest yield per mu reaching 1012 kg, accomplishing the task of growing rice in Changsha with a yield of more than 1000 kg per mu.
But super rice has not had smooth sailing. At the end of last year, the rice variety “Liangyou 0293” suffered yield reductions and total crop failure in Anhui. Since then, doubts from the outside about “super rice” have continued. In response, Yuan Longping said in an interview with reporters that although he is already 85 years old, he is in good health. “Some people come to question super rice. I ask, what is their purpose? Young people today do not know the preciousness of food. I am 85 years old, but I do not yield to old age. Even if you criticize me, I will not waver at all.”
“Level 5 resistance to pests and diseases is an intermediate level”
“Let me introduce this. This is double-season late rice, not single-season rice, about 700 kg (per mu).” In the demonstration field, Yuan Longping called on reporters to observe the bountiful rice. Yuan Longping introduced that China currently has a total of 39 super rice 100-mu demonstration plots, and some of them have already had a bumper harvest. “We set up 39 sites this year. So far, half of them have been harvested, and half have not yet been harvested. Among them, 6 sites exceeded 1000 kg (per mu), and one site exceeded 16 tons (per hectare; about 1067 kg per mu).”
According to the introduction, the world's rice planting area is currently about 2.2 billion mu, with an average yield of 300 kg per unit area. Even in some countries with relatively advanced agricultural science and technology, such as Japan, the average yield is only 450 kg, while China's super rice has reached an average yield of 500 kg per mu.
In 1996, the Ministry of Agriculture established the “China Super Rice” breeding program. At present, super rice varieties have evolved to the fourth phase. As of April this year, a total of 118 varieties have been recognized as super rice by the Ministry of Agriculture nationwide.
In October 2014, the variety “Liangyou 0293,” marketed by Longping High-Tech under the name “super rice,” suffered yield reductions and total crop failure across 10,000 mu in the Bengbu area of Anhui, triggering sustained public attention. Subsequently, the Ministry of Agriculture stated that “Liangyou 0293” was not a super rice recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture, and that the yield reduction incident would not affect subsequent research on super rice. On September 2 this year, it issued a notice requiring 41 crop varieties, including “Liangyou 0293,” to stop production immediately and to stop promotion one year later.
However, doubts about hybrid rice within the super rice family did not cease with the passing of the “Liangyou 0293” total crop failure incident. These doubts include: high yield but low quality and poor taste, high fertilizer and water requirements and not environmentally friendly, and seeds that cannot be saved for planting. It is worth noting that the yield reduction and total crop failure of “Liangyou 0293” in Anhui was caused by rice blast disease.
Faced with doubts, Yuan Longping said in an interview with reporters that super rice still has some technical problems to be solved, such as its resistance to pests and diseases, especially rice blast disease, still not being ideal. “Rice blast is the cancer of rice. It is always changing, and the difficulty is very great. The resistance of super rice can only be said to be not so ideal. Actually, it is still acceptable. It is (of) intermediate resistance, not so highly resistant.”
According to Yuan Longping, under the Ministry of Agriculture's 9-level evaluation index, the pest and disease resistance of super rice is at the intermediate level of level 5. “Levels 1, 2, and 3 are highly resistant; levels 7, 8, and 9 are highly susceptible. We are at level 5, an intermediate level. I think it would be good to get to level 3. Level 1 is very difficult.” “Ordinary rice also has resistant types and non-resistant types. It is all like this. There is still no fully resistant rice variety. (Resistance) is not absolute; it is all relative.” Yuan Longping said.
“At 85, I do not yield to old age, and there is still hope”
Yuan Longping, at the advanced age of 85, still spoke energetically when talking about rice. He joked that he is a “post-80s” person. “I am now a post-80s person. I originally said I would conquer 16 tons (per hectare) before 90, and now that is no longer a problem. Now I want to reach 17 tons before 90. The more I work, the more energetic I get.” Yuan Longping told reporters.
The experimental field where Yuan Longping referred to a yield of more than 16 tons per hectare is located at the “Super Hybrid Rice Gejiu Demonstration Base” in Gejiu City, Yunnan. In early October, this 100-mu contiguous rice research plot planting base set a world record for the average rice yield per mu in a 100-mu contiguous area with 1067.5 kg.
According to a previous report by Science and Technology Daily, in September 2013, Yuan Longping first looked ahead to the “internationalized” goal of 16 tons per hectare in the fifth phase of super rice. In February this year, Yuan Longping told the media that the goal of achieving 16 tons per hectare in 2018 would be brought forward to a breakthrough in 2016.
Therefore, Yuan Longping believes that the research direction of super rice is correct. “Even if you criticize me, I will not waver at all. I will still advance toward a higher goal.”
During the interview, Yuan Longping repeatedly emphasized the importance of food security. He said that super rice is a major project proposed and established by the state to ensure the food needs of the entire population. “Rice is the largest food crop both in China and in the world. More than half of the world's population and more than 60% of China's population rely on rice as their staple food. Especially in China, where there are many people and little land, the only way to solve the food problem is to increase the yield per unit area of cultivated land. This development direction is beyond doubt.”
Taking the experimental field at the Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Center in Changsha as an example, Yuan Longping said that even under unfavorable ecological conditions in Changsha, the yield per mu still exceeded 1000 kg, showing that super rice has great potential. “If it is promoted on a large scale to 100 million mu, calculated at an increase of 100 kg per mu, it can increase grain output by 10 billion kg per year, which is a remarkable figure. It would be more than enough for the annual grain supply of two megacities, Shanghai and Beijing.”
Yuan Longping told reporters that in the end he still wants to realize two dreams. “The first is the ‘dream of enjoying the cool beneath the rice plants.’ I dreamed that in the experimental field, the super rice grew as tall as sorghum, the panicles were as long as brooms, and the grains were as big as peanuts, and we sat beneath them enjoying the cool.” “The second dream is the dream that hybrid rice will cover the globe. The world now has more than 2.2 billion mu of rice fields. According to our previous figures, more than 70 million mu have already been planted with hybrid rice abroad. If half were planted with hybrid rice, calculated at an increase of 150 kg per mu, how much grain could be added? It could feed an additional 400 million to 500 million people. Once this dream is realized, it will be of great significance for safeguarding world food security and promoting world peace.” “85 years old? But I do not yield to old age. I believe that, first, I have a special feeling for rice, I like it very much, and I cannot give it up; second, I am still in good health. I still have hope. I still want to carry forward the spirit of an old steed in the stable still aspiring to gallop a thousand li. My ambition lies in these two dreams.”