Tech & Sci
22:55, 10-Oct-2017
New species of rice raised from seawater boosts yield
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A research team recently developed a new species of rice grown in soil soaked by seawater, with the highest yield amounting to 620.95 kg per mu (a Chinese unit equivalent to 666 square meters), as measured after harvest.
Led by Yuan Longping, the "Father of Hybrid Rice" in China, the team successfully produced a good harvest of the so-called "sea rice" in a test base in Qingdao, eastern Shandong Province.
Sea rice is commonly known as saline-alkaline tolerating rice. It is not grown directly in the sea but found in saline-alkaline soil at the junctures where rivers join the sea.
Xinhua Photo
Xinhua Photo
It is resistant to pests, diseases, salt and alkali, and does not need fertilizer so that the wasteland can be transformed into fertile land.
Sea rice is also a kind of red rice, with the color of rouge red. This is mainly because its selenium content is 7.2 times higher than that of ordinary rice.