Yuan Longpin, widely known as the”father of hybrid rice” for his pioneering work in developing high-yielding rice varieties in the 1970’s, has died.
He did this by cross-breeding wild varieties of rice with domesticated ones and significantly increasing the hybrid yield.
His hybrid rice has yields up to 30% higher than traditional varieties.
He compared in stature to Norman Borlaug, the American crop breeder, who developed tetraploid wheat that revolutionized wheat production all over the world.
Longpin with Borlaug in 2014
Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 and died in 2009.
Rice is staple food for half of the world’s population while wheat is staple for one third.
Longpin was born in Beijing on 7 September, 1930 and did most of his research work in China.
In 1980, he donated rice varieties he developed to the International Rice Research Institute and they were used for upgrading work all over the world.
He also taught farmers in many countries including India, Madagascar and Liberia to grow hybrid rice.
He was awarded China’s highest official honour, Medal of the Republic, by Xi Jinping, the national leader in 2019.
He died on 22 May, 2021 in Changsha, China.
photo credit: the times
