One hectare of 2-meter-high, hybrid "giant rice" was successfully cultivated in Chongqing's Dazu district. It will be harvested later this month. 

Following the death of Yuan Longping three months ago, people are saluting the successful trial planting of his giant rice variety. Yuan is known in China as the father of hybrid rice.

One hectare of the 2-meter-tall giant rice plants was hailed as a success in August in the Dazu district of Chongqing — a notable venue because the new rice seems to thrive despite higher temperatures.

Grown in Changhong village in Dazu's Shiwan township, the hybrid test planting will be harvested at the end of September, with an estimated yield 12 metric tons per hectare — a significant increase over the 9 metric tons per hectare typically expected for regular rice. The hybrid plants are twice as tall as standard varieties.

One hectare of 2-meter-high, hybrid "giant rice" was successfully cultivated in Chongqing's Dazu district. It will be harvested later this month. 

Chen Yangpu, deputy director of Chongqing branch of the China National Hybrid Rice Research and Development Center, said the giant rice, with straight, darker leaves, has greater photosynthetic efficiency than regular rice. The average number of effective tillers — the grain-bearing heads — can reach as high as 40, with the maximum grains of rice per spike around 500.

The new variety is resistant to heat, diseases, flooding, salt-alkali soil and lodging — where a stalk is bent close to the ground, making the grain difficult to harvest and reducing yield. The hybrid also provides an ideal habitat for aquatic animals and mammals, whose excrement adds nutrients to the plants.

One hectare of 2-meter-high, hybrid "giant rice" was successfully cultivated in Chongqing's Dazu district. It will be harvested later this month. 

One hectare of 2-meter-high, hybrid "giant rice" was successfully cultivated in Chongqing's Dazu district. It will be harvested later this month.