The work of Yuan Longping, also known as the Father of Hybrid Rice, continues to be crucial amid rising concerns about global food security.
Dr. Yuan’s pioneering research on hybrid rice started in 1964 and he and his team successfully cultivated the world’s first high-yield hybrid rice strain in 1973.
In 1979, he attended an international rice research conference held by IRRI in the Philippines, where he debuted his research on hybrid rice to the world.
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Hybrid Rice Development Consortium
The Hybrid Rice Development Consortium (HRDC) promotes innovation and access to new germplasm and information on hybrid rice technology. We are a membership-based organization that helps other organizations collaborate in the research and production of hybrid rice varieties.
Across the rice-producing world, there are well-recognized “yield gaps”—the difference between how much rice a system can potentially produce and the actual amount a farmer produces. Hybrid rice varieties are a key technology that can help close that gap, improving yield and profitability.
Hybrid rice for global food security
Replacing half of the rice-growing areas in the world with hybrid rice varieties with a 2 t/ha yield advantage could feed 400‒500 million more people each year.
Developing mechanically dense transplanting of single seedlings for hybrid rice production in China
Rice production plays a critical role in achieving food self-sufficiency in China where more than 65% of the population eats rice as a staple food. In order to produce enough rice, many novel rice technologies have been successfully developed and implemented in China. In particular, China was the first country to commercially exploit hybrid vigor (heterosis) in rice.
