Record crop yields in Sichuan surpass goals

Homegrown technology increases output on nation's agricultural land

The output of super hybrid rice, grown with technology developed by the late "father of hybrid rice" Yuan Longping, at a demonstration base in Sichuan province, has reached a world record of almost 18.8 metric tons per hectare, surpassing the target set by the scientist in 2018.

In accordance with the method prescribed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs to estimate the yield for super hybrid rice, a team of experts from five institutions, including the China National Rice Research Institute and the Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, randomly chose three plots in the base in Dechang county to harvest on Saturday.

The No 1 plot dwarfed the other two plots with roughly 19.7 tons of output per hectare, and the average output of the three plots stood at almost 18.8 metric tons per hectare, according to a report from People's Daily.