Renowned agricultural expert Yuan Longping, known as the "father of hybrid rice", died in May at the age of 91, but his legacy lives on, most recently with the successful trial planting of his giant rice variety in Chongqing's Dazu district.

被誉为 "杂交水稻之父"的中国著名农业专家袁隆平于今年5月去世，享年91岁。但是，他的遗产仍在延续。最近，他的巨型水稻品种在重庆大足区试种成功。

One hectare of 2-meter-tall giant rice plants, a hybrid developed through a process of heterosis－in which a crossbred hybrid is superior to its parents－was hailed as a success in August in Dazu district.

8月，一公顷2米高的巨型水稻在大足区试种成功，这些巨型水稻就是通过一种通过杂种优势培育出来的杂交水稻。

The new rice variety seems to thrive despite the area's relatively higher temperatures, which are usually not ideal for the crop.

尽管该地区的温度相对较高，通常不适合作物生长，但这种新的水稻品种似乎仍能茁壮成长。

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

种植在大足拾万镇长虹村的巨型水稻植株将于今年9月底收割，预计每公顷产量为12公吨。这比以往每公顷9公吨普通水稻的产量有显著增加。这些杂交水稻的高度是标准品种的两倍。

Chen Yangpu, deputy director of the Chongqing branch of the China National Hybrid Rice Research and Development Center, said the giant rice, which has straight, darker leaves, has greater photosynthetic efficiency－the amount of light energy converted into chemical energy－than regular rice.

中国国家杂交水稻工程技术研究中心重庆分中心副主任陈杨朴介绍说，这种巨型水稻的叶片笔直，颜色较深，其光合作用（即光能转化为化学能）效率比普通水稻更高。

"The technical difficulty lies in the thickening of the rice stalks and the quality of the rice grains," said Luo Zhiqiang, production technology director of Chongqing Dazu Yuanpin Agricultural Development Co. By improving the thickness of the stalks, the plants can grow taller and yield more rice. This breakthrough took more than 10 years of research, he added.

重庆大足袁品农业发展有限公司生产实验技术负责人罗志强说："技术上的难点在于稻秆的增厚和米粒的质量。通过改善稻秆的厚度，水稻可以长得更高，产量也更高。”他补充到，这一突破花了10多年的研究时间。

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 the yield. The hybrid also provides an ideal habitat for aquatic creatures and mammals, whose excrement adds nutrients to the plants.

新品种能抗热、抗病、抗涝、抗盐碱土和抗倒伏（即茎杆弯曲贴近地面，使谷物难以收割并降低产量）。该杂交品种还为水生生物和哺乳动物提供了理想的栖息地，动物的排泄物还可以为植物增加营养。

A project to plant 1,333 hectares of rice and introduce aquatic animals is planned in Dazu district, following on the heels of the success of the giant hybrid rice, Luo said. The hybrid field can accommodate more water, making it possible to breed fish, shrimp and crabs in the same paddy.

罗志强指出，继巨型杂交水稻试种成功后，他们计划在大足区内实施一个种植面积1333公顷水稻并引进水生动物的项目。该杂交田可以容纳更多的水，使得鱼、虾和螃蟹可以养在同一个稻田里。

"Normal rice can yield a profit of $930 to $1,155 per hectare, but planting giant rice and raising aquatic animals together may help farmers increase profits by a factor of five or six," Luo said. "The farmers have shown interest. So this could be a good new project for the nation's rural vitalization strategy."

"普通水稻每公顷可获得930至1155美元的利润，但种植巨型水稻并饲养水生动物的话，可能会帮农民将利润提高5到6倍，”罗志强说，"农民们对此很感兴趣。因此，这可能是国家农村振兴战略下一个很好的新项目。"

The strategy, first proposed in the report to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2017, promotes the protection of arable land resources, traditional villages and rural features, and the improvement of the rural living environment.

该战略在2017年中国共产党第十九次全国代表大会报告中首次提出的，旨在促进保护耕地资源、传统村落和农村特色，以及改善农村生活环境。

Luo said his group is focusing on the trial of the Dazu sample and is looking forward to spreading it to the rest of the country in the future.

罗志强说，他的小组正专注于大足区样本的试验，并期待在未来将其推广到全国其他地区。

Next year, the center is planning to expand the planting area of the hybrid rice across Chongqing. It has also been planted in Hunan, Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces, and in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

明年，中心计划将杂交水稻的种植面积扩大到整个重庆。他们已经在湖南、广东、江苏、广西等省（区）进行了种植。

"Larger areas of hybrid rice can be harvested by machinery," said Luo.

Dream realized

"更大面积的杂交水稻可以通过机械进行收割，"罗志强说。梦想实现了。

Chen, the development center director, said the giant rice "represents the realization of Yuan's dream".

开发中心陈主任说，巨型水稻意味着袁隆平的梦想实现了。

Yuan began researching hybrid rice in 1964 and succeeded in cultivating the world's first high-yield strain in 1973. In his work, spanning more than five decades, he helped China work a great wonder－feeding nearly one-fifth of the world's population with less than 9 percent of the world's total arable land.

袁隆平从1964年开始研究杂交水稻，并于1973年成功培育出世界第一个高产杂交水稻品种。在50多年的研究里，他帮助中国创造了一个伟大的奇迹，用不到世界9%的耕地面积养活了世界上近五分之一的人口。

Yuan once said he had two dreams: to "enjoy the cool shade beneath rice plants taller than men "and to see hybrid rice grown all over the world to help solve the global food shortage.

袁隆平曾经说，他有两个梦想，一个是“禾下乘凉”，另一个是“见证杂交稻覆盖全球，帮助解决全世界的粮食短缺问题”。

袁隆平爷爷的禾下乘凉梦成真了！2米高“巨型稻”试种成功 04:40 Share

China Daily Podcast

Shownotes Transcript

袁隆平爷爷的禾下乘凉梦成真了！2米高“巨型稻”试种成功