Hybrid rice
Hybrid rice is any genealogy of rice produced by crossbreeding different kinds of rice. Some hybrid rice may significantly increase the output.
The earliest high-yield rice was cultivated by Henry 'Hank' Beachell[1] in 1966.
In crop breeding, although the use of heterosis in first-generation seeds (or F1) is well known, its application in rice was limited because of the self-pollination character of that crop. In 1974, Chinese scientists successfully transferred the male sterility gene from wild rice to create the cytoplasmic genetic male-sterile (CMS) line and hybrid combination[2]. The first generation of hybrid rice varieties are three-lines hybrids and produce yields that are about 15 to 20 percent greater than those of improved or high-yielding varieties of the same growth duration.
At the present time, Yuan Longping, the "Father of Hybrid Rice", may be the most famous in research on hybrid rice. He developed a hybrid rice which produces 30% more than ordinary ones, which has been widely used in the rice fields. The hybrid rice by Yuan and his co-researchers has made the earth produce extra rice equivalent to food for 80 million or more people.
Recently, a new "Super Rice" in Yuan's experimental field produces rice output per unit area three times as the average in the world.
High-yield crops, like hybrid rice, are one of the most important tools for combating world food crises.
References
- ^ Whalen, Sarah (2006). "The father of 'miracle rice' turns 100". Newspaper Article. Asia Times Online. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
- ^ FAO.org (2004). "Hybrid Rice for Food Security" (PDF). Fact Sheet. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
External links
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