China creates world’s first clone-hybrid rice that could double global output

Chinese researchers have developed a revolutionary form of hybrid rice that can replicate itself through seeds that are clones, faithfully preserving high-yield traits generation after generation.

The team says its breakthrough could transform global agriculture by dismantling the biggest barrier to hybrid rice production: the need for farmers to buy expensive new hybrid seeds every season.

As hundreds of millions of people around the world face acute food insecurity, hybrid rice has promised dramatically higher yields: nearly four times more in parts of Africa compared to traditional varieties.

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2-metre ‘giant rice’ twice as tall as other varieties nearly ready for first harvest in China

If all rice farmers could plant the new hybrid variant, the world’s rice production could double, according to some industry estimates.

However, the price of hybrid seeds can reach 200 yuan (US$28) per kilogram in China, and even higher in other countries – up to 100 times more than that of regular rice seeds.

Moreover, the offspring of these high-priced seeds lose their hybrid vigour – superior traits from crossbreeding – forcing farmers to buy seeds again every year.

A research team led by Wang Kejian at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences’ China National Rice Research Institute has developed hybrid rice capable of near-perfect clonal reproduction through apomixis – a process in which seeds develop without fertilisation.

South China Morning Post