China's hybrid rice yield hits record high

Yuan Longping (second from left), a hybrid rice expert, checks a new strain of hybrid rice at a pilot field in Handan, Hebei province, on Oct 15, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

A new type of hybrid rice grown in China has become the highest-yielding one in the world, said a report by Science and Technology Daily on Sunday.

The pilot rice fields in Handan, Hebei province, were harvested on Sunday. The three plots yielded 17.2 tons per hectare on average, according to a group of agricultural experts who measured the harvest. Of the three plots, the one with the highest yield reached 17.7 tons per hectare, which is a new world record.

The new variety, called Xiang Liangyou 900, was cultivated by a team led by Yuan Longping, who is known as "the father of hybrid rice" in China.