Major breakthroughs have been made in the breeding and promotion and application of hybrid rice between indica mother and japonica father subspecies-HBALLWIN SEED—

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Major breakthroughs have been made in the breeding and promotion and application of hybrid rice between indica mother and japonica father subspecies

Release time:

2025-08-25

Under the guidance and support of Academician Zhang Qifa and his team, the team led by Wu Zhonghua and Wu Zhenyong from Hubei Quanyin High-Tech Seed Industry Co., Ltd. has made a significant breakthrough in the field of utilizing the advantages of interspecific hybrids between indica and japonica parent rice subspecies. Indica mother-japonica father-subspecific hybrid rice is another new track for hybrid rice breeding opened up in China after the wild sterile sporophyte sterile three-line hybrid rice (Yuan Longping et al. 1973), photosensitive nuclear sterile two-line hybrid rice (Shi Mingsong 1981), and japonica mother-indica mother-BT gametophyte sterile three-line hybrid rice (Ma Rongrong et al. 2005). It is the following major original research achievements in the field of rice breeding in Hubei Province, such as the red lotus type gametophyte sterile three-line hybrid rice (Zhu Yingguo et al. 1974), the photosensitive nuclear sterile two-line hybrid rice (Shi Mingsong 1981), the medicinal serum albumin transgenic rice (Yang Daichang 2025), and the 螟虫 transgenic rice that failed to be industrialized due to public opinion reasons (Zhang Qidi et al. 2009) Another original and breakthrough breeding achievement. Several years ago, Hubei Quanyin's scientific research team directly targeted the worldwide problem of the interspecific hybrid advantages between indica and japonica rice. When the industry was trapped by the five major defects of the "japonica mother and indica father" hybrid rice variety, namely poor heat tolerance, poor resistance to rice yeast disease, poor storage capacity of rice, poor grain shape of rice, and high seed cost, the breeding team of Hubei Quanyin broke the deadlock in reverse and created a new "indica mother and japonica father" system. This is not merely a simple exchange of parents, but rather an accurate decoding of the genetic code for intersubspecies hybridization. The five revolutionary breakthroughs in the "indica mother and japonica father" interspecific hybrid rice are driving a new round of rice breeding revolution and are part of the "6G rice" predicted by Liu Dingfu (2019).

The first is to break through the bottleneck of the fact that the seed production of japonica mother and indica father hybrid rice does not encounter the flowering time of the seed parents and the seed production yield is low. The seed production of indica mother and japonica father hybrid rice has synchronous flowering time, high yield and good quality. Second, it is to break through the poor heat tolerance of the japonica mother and indica father hybrid. The indica mother and japonica father hybrid can tolerate high temperatures due to its indica rice lineage and low temperatures due to its japonica rice lineage, thus having wide adaptability. Thirdly, the hybrid rice of indica mother and japonica father has long ears and many grains, with moderate grain setting, which breaks through the stubborn problem of overly dense grain setting in japonica mother and indica father hybrid rice that makes it prone to rice yeast disease. Fourth, it is to break through the fatal defect of the japonica mother and indica father hybrid rice that the rice is not suitable for storage. The fifth is to break through the predicament that the grains of the japonica mother and indica father hybrid are similar to those of japonica, rice mills are reluctant to purchase them, consumers are reluctant to buy them, and they are not easy to sell in the market. After ten years of hard work, the breeding team of Hubei Allwin has broken through the biological barriers of indica-japonica hybridization, such as photosensitive genes, recovery genes, hybridization incompatibility genes, killer genes, and helper genes, and has developed a batch of strong dominant restorer lines including R88, R118, and QY22, which carry more than 30% of japonica blood. A number of new hybrid rice varieties with three-line and two-line methods, including CFY.118, CFY.88, Y2.118, and B2.586, have been cultivated. These varieties were approved by the state on December 31, 2024, and are now being widely promoted and applied in the southern rice-growing areas of China. These varieties have pushed the hybrid rice, which has been applied in China for half a century, to a new height with eight major advantages. First, it grows vigorously and sprouts quickly. Second, it has large ears, many grains and extremely high yield (the yield per mu of mid-season rice can easily reach 850-900 kilograms). Third, the stems are thick and strong, resistant to lodging. Fourth, it has been genetically modified to resist diseases. Fifth, it has strong heat tolerance and good fruiting. Sixth, it is of japonica type and can tolerate low temperatures. Seventh, the grain shape is similar to that of indica rice and the quality is excellent. Eighth, it is widely suitable for multiple uses and has a wide range of applications (suitable for planting, transplanting, direct seeding, early or late sowing, and regeneration). It is suitable for both plain and mountainous areas and is widely cultivated in the rice-growing regions of the south.

After achieving a landmark breakthrough in the interspecific hybrid rice of indica mother and non-indica father, the team led by Wu Zhonghua in Hubei Allwin , did not stop their steps. Instead, they sent their breeding leader, Researcher Wu Zhenyong, to pursue a doctoral degree under the guidance of Professor Zhang Qifa, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and from Huazhong Agricultural University. Under the direct guidance of Professor Zhang Qifa's team, Climb towards the new peak of green and nutritious super rice with indica mother and japonica father. The goal is to make the rice industry environmentally green (less pesticide use, less fertilizer application, and less water use), nutritious to humans (harmless, nutritious, functional, and healthy), and super to society (super high yield, super quality, super resistance, super greenness, and super functionality), and to cultivate perfect rice varieties. Under the joint research project led by Academician Zhang Qifa, 32 excellent and beneficial functional genes covering high yield, high quality, multiple resistance, wide application, low input and excellent output are being efficiently aggregated on the chassis of indica mother and japonica father. Within three years, a super parent with an indestructible body will be created. This will further cultivate high-yielding, higher-quality, more stress-resistant, less pesticide and chemical fertilizer application, drought-resistant and anti-lodging green and nutritious super rice varieties among subspecies, opening up a new path for rice breeding and making greater contributions to the country's new round of increasing grain production capacity by 50 billion kg. At the same time, in response to the "National Whole Grain Action Plan", we aim to make every grain of rice a strategic material for the country that is "enough to eat", "good to eat" and "healthy to eat".

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2025 Hubei Allwin New Varieties Rice Meeting

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