A conversation with rice breeder Li Ping: Increased yield, high temperature resistance, customization... the story of the birth of "Very Rice"

my country's rice breeding has always been at the international leading level. Thanks to the efforts of scientific researchers, a number of new rice varieties with their own characteristics and strengths have been born.

Rice genetics and breeding involve multiple disciplines. Li Ping, a professor and doctoral supervisor at Sichuan Agricultural University, said that rice breeders need to have a broad and deep knowledge base, including genetics, ecology, plant physiology, molecular biology, etc.

my country's rice breeding has always been at the international leading level. Since the 1950s, the selection and breeding of dwarf rice varieties has set off a green revolution, and rice production has gradually increased. In the 1970s, my country's hybrid rice research results increased the yield of conventional rice by more than 30%. Now, the selection and breeding of rice varieties has higher requirements. Not only do we need to eat enough, but we also need to eat well and eat healthily.

As a rice breeding expert, Li Ping has been working in this field for decades. The first variety he cultivated, "Gangyou 827", which passed the national approval, was promoted in an area of ​​more than 2 million mu in the second year after it was approved.

Taichuan 111 is one of the most successful rice varieties exported abroad. Li Ping introduced that Taichuan 111 is a variety specially designed and customized for promoting hybrid rice in Vietnam. It is also the largest variety exported by my country to Vietnam, accounting for more than 30% of the hybrid rice application area in Vietnam.

Another high-temperature-resistant rice variety that makes Li Ping proud is "Gang 8 You 316". Since it was put on the market in 2011, it has never been defeated by high temperatures and is extremely resistant to storage. Even after being stored for more than three years, the quality has basically not changed.

When talking about rice breeding today, Li Ping gave a key word - customization. For example, targeted improvement of rice, breeding of rice with low heavy metal adsorption function, and special breeding of varieties for rice flour processing and wine processing. The promotion of these "special" varieties can ensure the quality of product raw materials, thereby improving the consistency of processed products.

As a researcher who has been engaged in rice breeding for decades, Li Ping believes that the moments of pride and excitement only account for 1%, and more people are just "denominators", who may have gained nothing after a long period of research, and only learned lessons from failure. However, in all the "dark moments", we must maintain our faith.

"Open the window and you will see the endless scenery" is the idea that Li Ping has always adhered to. Scientific researchers must have an open mind and an optimistic and positive attitude to explore more possibilities.