Three-Line Hybrid Rice in China: Fifty Years of Sustained Improvement in Yield, Quality, and Stress Resistance
Received date: 2025-12-23
Accepted date: 2026-04-07
Online published: 2026-04-07
China pioneered the global commercial application of hybrid rice (Oryza sativa L.). Chinese scientists not only proved that heterosis can be realized in self-pollinating crops, a groundbreaking theoretical advance, but also developed commercial hybrid rice breeding into one of China’s most sophisticated agricultural technology models, making outstanding contributions to national food security. This study systematically reviews the 50-year developmental trajectory of officially approved three-line hybrid rice varieties at national and provincial levels in China, through analyzing the approval statistics of individual restorer lines and male sterile lines, the dynamic changes in the popularized planting area of major varieties, and the phenotypic variation in core agronomic traits including grain yield, grain quality, and disease/pest resistance. The paper comprehensively summarizes the remarkable progress, major achievements and practical experience accumulated over half a century of three-line hybrid rice breeding in China, and prospects future research directions for this system.
Gong Junyi , Zhang Xiaobo , Zhang Jianfu , Zeng Bo , Zhang Xiaoqing , Xu Xia , Cheng Benyi , Hou Yuxuan , Xia Junhui , Wu Jianli , Yang Shihua , Cheng Shihua , Han Bin , Xie Huaan . Three-Line Hybrid Rice in China: Fifty Years of Sustained Improvement in Yield, Quality, and Stress Resistance[J]. Rice Science, 2026 , 33(4) : 499 -513 . DOI: 10.1016/j.rsci.2026.04.004
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