China’s giant rice hybrid yields bumper harvest in what could be ‘game-changer’ for food security
- It can grow twice as tall as conventional rice and boasts advantages including higher yields, drought tolerance and resistance to pests
- However, climate change could pose challenge to growing the variety in the tropics
Lu Xiwan, a farmer in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, planted 13.3 hectares of the rice variety this year and obtained a yield of 2,200-3,000kg (4,850-6,614lbs) more rice per hectare (2.5 acres) compared to previous years, according to state news agency Xinhua.
China News Service reported on August 19 that giant rice was capable of producing yields 30 per cent higher than conventional rice, reaching 9,000kg per hectare.
The giant rice variety, developed by a research team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Subtropical Agriculture in 2017, was created with the aim of producing more rice per hectare.
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2-metre ‘giant rice’ twice as tall as other varieties nearly ready for first harvest in China
The reports of high yields come as India increases duties and export bans on non-basmati rice varieties because of a poor harvest season after El Nino intensified flooding in the country.