On December 16, 2022, the American "Science" magazine announced the "Top Ten Scientific Breakthroughs of 2022". The perennial rice research results of Hu Fengyi's team at the School of Agriculture of Yunnan University became the only scientific breakthrough in China and the only agricultural scientific breakthrough in the world that year.
Since the Neolithic Age, our ancestors have been domesticating and growing annual crops. Rice is a typical annual crop and the main food crop for nearly 90% of the population in Asia.
However, annual food crops need to be planted in spring and harvested in autumn year after year, which will cause social, economic and ecological environmental problems such as large labor input, large amount of seed input, increased soil erosion, increased input of agricultural machinery, soil structure damage, and nutrient imbalance.
After decades of exploration, the perennial rice created by Hu Fengyi’s team can be planted once in a suitable area, and can be harvested without tillage for 3 to 4 years. It can be harvested twice a year. tons/ha).
In planting, from the second year onwards, there is no need to buy seeds, seedlings, plowing and transplanting and other production links, only two production links of field management and harvesting are required, which saves production costs and reduces labor. Sustainable rice production.
In the future, the team will conduct variety breeding in multiple regions, and conduct research on core cultivation techniques such as overwintering and no-tillage.
For nearly 10,000 years, global food production has relied on annual grains, and this research provides an important new pathway for global food production.
(Part of the video source of Chen Jing and Yuan Hongkai: Yunnan University)
Responsible editor: [Luo Pan]