Focus on Arts and Ecology

Yuan Longping, the father of hybrid rice in China, is experimenting with a new variety of saline-alkali tolerant rice. chinadialogue reported on the strain in January. Now the first results are in according to The Paper. The trial in Qingdao ended with a yield of 261.39 kg per mu (1 mu = 1/15 hectare)  in the first year, which is about 40% of its theoretical yield of 669.24 kg. Experts at the centre who were interviewed said that this was within their expected range; their goal is to produce 300-500 kilogrammes per mu per year in three years time. If the rice strain is successful 300 million mu (200,000 square kilometres) of land with alkaline soil nationwide could potentially go into production, according to Xinhua.