The output of China-bred super hybrid rice "IIyouming86" has hit a new world record, reaching 1,196.5 kilograms per mu (15 mu equals 1 hectare).

It broke the record of 1,185.5 kg per mu set by another hybrid rice strain named "Teyou175" nine days earlier.

"IIyouming86" was developed by Xie Hua'an, director of the Fujian Provincial Academy of Agricultural Science. Experiments were made on it in Yongsheng County, in southwest China's Yunnan Province, on a trial basis.

Yongsheng County, located in the Jinsha River Valley with an elevation of 1,170 meters. It has 2,700 hours of sunshine and 586 mm of precipitation annually.

China has 30.667 million hectares of rice paddies, 50 percent of which is planted with hybrid rice.

China now ranks fourth in the world in terms of per-mu output, which is only 100 kilograms less than that of Australia.

(People's Daily 09/12/2001)