New rice hybrids show up to 300% increase in grain yield!
The researchers studied how combining different rice plants can create hybrids with higher grain yield. They tested 36 hybrids made from nine high-yielding rice varieties. Most hybrids showed significant increases in grain yield, panicle number, and other important traits compared to the parent plants. Some hybrids had up to 301.6% higher grain yield than the standard variety. The best hybrids for grain yield were Prasad x PP 72, Govind x PP 72, Govind x Sita, Prasad x Mahsuri, and Govind x Jaya. The researchers found that combining specific traits from different parent plants led to higher grain yield in the hybrids. This study suggests that heterosis breeding can be used to improve rice production.