Chinese scientists have found a rice gene that can boost yield

[superadmin]

Chinese scientists have found a rice gene that can boost yield and shorten the growth cycle

• Over-expressing the gene in a common species can increase yield by more than 50 per cent and it can be harvested over two weeks early, team says
  
• Researchers tested rice with the tweaked gene in areas across China, and their discovery could be a step towards improving food security
  

Researchers in Beijing say they have found a gene in rice that can significantly increase yield and reduce the growth period, a discovery that could be a step towards improving food security.

They said over-expressing the gene in a common rice species could increase the yield by more than 50 per cent while moving the harvest time forward by over two weeks.

The team led by Zhou Wenbin at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences has been testing this since 2018 in areas with different climates including Beijing, tropical city Sanya and Hangzhou by the Yangtze River, according to a statement posted on the academy’s website on Friday.

“Yield increased by 41.3-68.3 per cent, harvest index increased by 40.3-55.7 per cent, and the heading date advanced 13-19 days,” the statement said. Harvest index is the ratio of grain to total shoot dry matter and is a measure of reproductive efficiency.

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