The yield of China's hybrid rice breed, which is known as super rice, has exceeded 900 kg per mu (0.067 hectare), setting a new world record in rice output.

Yuan Longping(L), known as the "father of hybrid rice", speaks at the press conference of Hunan Academy of Agriculture, in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, Sept. 19, 2011. [Xinhua]

The rice breed, DH2525 (Y two superior No. 2), produced a harvest of 926.6 kg per mu during its trial plantation in Longhui County in central China's Hunan Province, according to the provincial academy of agriculture at a press conference on Monday.

To ensure the accuracy of the yield, a team of experts under the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) randomly selected three out of the 107.9 mu trial field's 18 plots and supervised the harvest on Sunday.

However, the breeding can not be deemed a success until the new breed produces the targeted yield of over 900 kg per mu on at least 100 mu of farmland for two consecutive years, said the team's leader Cheng Shihua.

"We have another year to go," he said.

DH2525 was developed by Yuan Longping, known as the "father of hybrid rice," who started developing hybrid rice in the 1960s. His research team reached the target unit yield of 700 kg per mu and 800 kg per mu in 1999 and 2005, respectively, setting world records both times.

With skills honed by his team over several decades, Chinese farmers are estimated to have harvested 300 billion kilograms more in aggregate output. Their hybrid rice, therefore, has become known as super rice.

Wang Huayong, a farmer who contracted the trial field, said the field had a yielded 841.6 and 872 kg of rice per mu over the past two years, respectively, and the yield finally exceeded 900 kg per mu this year.

"The seed was further upgraded, new manure was used, and we also received the guidance of Mr. Yuan himself," Wang said.

Eighty-one-year-old Yuan visited the field in early September and checked the growth situation.

"He issued a clear instruction on water management in the field," said Wang.

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