Chinese scientist Yuan Longping, known as the “Father of Hybrid Rice,” made his breakthrough while working in the Philippines in the 1970s, massively increased the yield of rice for all of mankind. One problem has remained ever since—the seeds from hybrid rice did not pass on the generative power of the parent plant, requiring farmers to purchase new seed every year, at significant expense.
This problem has now been resolved by a team of Chinese scientists led by Wang Kejian at the China National Rice Research Institute, who have developed a method resulting in “near-100 percent stable cloning efficiency and normal fertility, enabling hybrid vigor to be permanently passed down through seeds.”
