LAHORE: Pakistani and Chinese Scientists have developed a new hybrid rice seed capable of increasing per acre yield threefolds.

Scientists from the Punjab University (PU) and Wuhan University, China have jointly developed a new variety of hybrid rice to increase per acre yield of crop from approximately 1,600kg to 5,600kg per acre.

The new hybrid rice is the first Honglian variety of hybrid rice to be produced in Pakistan.

PU’s Department of Plant Breeding Genetics Chairman Prof Dr Muhammad Ashfaq and Dr Muhammad Ali Klasra, while Prof Renshan Zhu, Dr Xianting Wu, Mr Xu and others from Wuhan University were part of the research team. After the completion of the technical stages, the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council has approved the new hybrid rice.

PU Department of Plant Breeding Genetics Chairman Dr Ashfaq said the new rice was successfully tested in different cities of four provinces of Pakistan. He said the preparation of the hybrid rice was the result of 10 years of research and experiments and it was registered under the name PU786.

He said the new hybrid rice had the ability to resist bacterial diseases and was also resistant to extreme heat and dangerous insects. It would increase rice production at the national level, he said.

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2025