According to Xinhua News Agency, the reporter learned from Xiangya Hospital of Central South University that Yuan Longping, "father of hybrid rice," academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and winner of the Medal of the Republic, died at 13:07 on May 22 in Changsha, Hunan, at the age of 91. Yuan Longping, a pioneer in the research and development of hybrid rice in China, is also the first scientist in the world to successfully make use of rice heterosis, and is known as "the father of hybrid rice". Until the beginning of this year, he persisted in carrying out scientific research work in the southern breeding base of Sanya, Hainan.

Yuan Longping passed away

Yuan Longping, winner of the Medal of the Republic, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, director of the National Hybrid Rice Engineering and Technology Research Center, and former vice chairman of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Chinese people's political Consultative Conference, died of multiple organ failure at 13:07 in Changsha on May 22, 2021. He was 91 years old.

Yuan Longping, a pioneer in the research and development of hybrid rice in China, is also the first scientist in the world to successfully make use of rice heterosis, and is known as "the father of hybrid rice". Breaking through the shackles of classical genetics, he began to study hybrid rice in 1964 and successfully bred Nanyou 2, the first practical hybrid rice variety with high yield in the world. The achievements of hybrid rice have been widely used in the whole country since 1976, which has greatly increased the per unit yield and total yield of rice. For more than 20 years, he led the team to tackle the key problems of super hybrid rice, and achieved the targets of large-scale demonstration of 10.5 tons, 12 tons, 13.5 tons and 15 tons per hectare in 2000, 2004, 2011 and 2014, respectively. The newly bred third-generation hybrid rice Sanyou 1 has an average yield of 911.7 kg per mu as double-cropping late rice in 2020, plus 619.06 kg per mu of the second-generation early hybrid rice and 1530.76 kg per mu for the whole year, achieving the target of 3000 jin of rice per mu per year.

"developing hybrid rice for the benefit of the people of the world" is Yuan Longping's lifelong pursuit. In order to realize this ambition, he has been committed to promoting hybrid rice to the world for a long time. At present, hybrid rice has been widely planted in India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, the United States, Brazil, Madagascar and other countries, with an annual planting area of 8 million hectares, and the average yield per hectare is about 2 tons higher than that of local fine varieties.

Yuan Longping won the National Special Award for Invention in 1981, the first National highest Science and Technology Award in 2001, the National Special Award for Science and Technology Progress in 2014, the title of "Vanguard of Reform" in 2018, and the Medal of the Republic in 2019. He has also won more than 20 domestic and international awards, including the UNESCO Science Award.

This morning, Weibo Corp spread "Yuan Longping passed away" online. At 11:31, the media reported that the health care doctor told him that "Yuan Lao is being treated in hospital."

According to him, Yuan Longping fell at the Sanya hybrid rice research base on March 10 this year, causing discomfort. On April 7, he was transferred to Changsha Hospital for treatment.

How much contribution has Yuan Longping made?

Yuan Longping, male, Han nationality, independent, was born in September 1930 in Dean, Jiangxi Province, former director of the National Hybrid Rice Engineering and Technology Research Center and Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Center, former vice chairman of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Chinese people's political Consultative Conference, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, deputy to the Fifth National people's Congress, and member of the sixth, Seventh, eighth, Ninth, 11th, 11th and 12th CPPCC National Committee. He devoted all his life to the research, application and popularization of hybrid rice technology, invented the "three-line method" of indica hybrid rice, successfully developed the "two-line method" of hybrid rice, and established the technological system of super hybrid rice. to make outstanding contributions to China's food security, agricultural scientific development and world food supply. Won the highest national science and technology award, the national science and technology progress award special prize and "reform vanguard" and other titles.

Yuan Longping is the first scientist in the world to successfully apply the hybrid advantage of rice to production. He has devoted himself to the research, application and popularization of hybrid rice technology for decades. He has made great contributions to China's food security, the development of agricultural science and the world food supply.
"you young people have not experienced famine and do not know the importance of food. A grain of grain can save a country or trip a country. In an interview, Yuan Longping mentioned his original intention of studying rice.

"if you want to avoid being bullied by others, the country must be strong. Yuan Longping has been aware of this since he was a child, so he has always linked his personal future to the interests of the country. He had the dream of saving the country by sports, and he also planned to join the army to serve the country. in the end, he formed a string of full ears of rice with his enthusiasm for the motherland.

"our country has a large population and little arable land, and the only way to ensure national food security is to increase per unit yield. Therefore, high yield is an eternal theme for me. Yuan Longping said that before the founding of the people's Republic of China, he was saddened by the fact that he personally saw hungry people lying on the side of the road. So in 1949, he applied for the southwest agricultural college.

In 1956, Yuan Longping, who had previously taught Russian at school, began an agronomic experiment with his students in response to the national Scientific Development Plan. Over the past few years, Yuan Longping, who relied entirely on his own experience, found that some hybrid combinations in rice had advantages, and determined that this was an important way to increase rice yield. The idea of cultivating hybrid rice came to his mind for the first time. To this end, he twice went to Beijing to visit breeders Bao Wenkui out of his own pocket.

In 1966, Yuan Longping published the paper "male Sterility of Rice", which opened the prelude to the research of hybrid rice in China. In 1970, a wild rice plant with pollen abortion was found in Hainan, which opened a breakthrough in the research of hybrid rice. Yuan Longping named the baby "Wild defeat". In 1973, Yuan Longping officially announced the success of the three-line combination of indica hybrid rice at the second national scientific research cooperation meeting of hybrid rice, and made a major breakthrough in the utilization of rice heterosis.

Recalling the days of overcoming difficulties, one of the deepest details in Yuan Longping's memory is that he reversed the train for several days with enough bacon to eat for months, and went to Yunnan, Hainan, Guangdong, and other places to study, just to find suitable sunshine conditions. Yuan Longping said the experience was "like a migratory bird chasing the sun."

In 1996, the Ministry of Agriculture formally established a super rice breeding program. Four years later, the target of 700 kg per mu in the first phase was achieved. This was followed by a "triple jump" of 800kg in 2004, 900kg in 2011 and 1000 kg in 2014.

In April 1979, at the International Conference on Hybrid Rice, Yuan Longping read out his paper "Hybrid Rice breeding in China". China passed on the successful experience of hybrid rice research to the world for the first time.

The Concise course of Hybrid Rice, written by Yuan Longping in 1985, was published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and distributed to more than 40 countries. It has become a guiding book for hybrid rice research and production all over the world.

Yuan Longping won the World Food Award in 2004 because he "shows broad prospects for ensuring world food security and poverty alleviation" and is "committed to imparting and applying hybrid rice technology to dozens of countries in the world, including the United States."

"it is my lifelong pursuit and dream to develop hybrid rice for the benefit of the people of the world. "Yuan Longping said.

For more than 20 years, he led the team to tackle the key problems of super hybrid rice, and achieved the targets of large-scale demonstration of 10.5 tons, 12 tons, 13.5 tons and 15 tons per hectare in 2000, 2004, 2011 and 2014, respectively. The newly bred third-generation hybrid rice Sanyou 1 has an average yield of 911.7 kg per mu as double-cropping late rice in 2020, plus 619.06 kg per mu of the second-generation early hybrid rice and 1530.76 kg per mu for the whole year, achieving the target of 3000 jin of rice per mu per year.

The Medal of the Republic says that he has made great contributions to China's food security, the development of agricultural science and the world's food supply.

In 2020, salt-tolerant rice planted jointly by Yuan Longping's "seawater Rice" team and Jiangsu Agricultural Technology extension Station was tested in the Yanchafang Reclamation area in Rudong, Jiangsu Province. after the mechanical harvest of about 1 mu of three rice fields was measured by the expert team, the average yield of salt-tolerant rice per mu of "Chaoyouqian" reached 802.9 kg. Experts said that this yield set a new record for high yield of rice in saline-alkali land. Yuan Longping said, "my work is very meaningful. I think my body is all right, but my brain hasn't been burnt yet, so I can continue to work, and I can muster up the courage to continue to work until I am born in the post-90s generation." "

Yuan Longping's lifelong dream is to eradicate hunger.

As the award message "moved China" to Yuan Longping wrote in 2004, "he is a real cultivator." When he was a rural teacher, he already had the courage to subvert the authority of the world; when he was famous all over the world, he still focused on Tian Chou, indifferent to fame and wealth, a farmer, spreading wisdom and harvesting wealth. His lifelong dream is to keep all people away from hunger. "

Mr. Yuan, have a good walk!