China aims to boost 'super corn' yield

JINAN - China aims to boost yields of a "super corn" through research on inbred corn lines, according to the research team.

The "super corn," coded "Denghai 618," was cultivated by Li Denghai, a well-known corn breeder in east China's Shandong Province. Its yield hit a record high of 1,335.8 kg per mu (15 mu is equal to one hectare) in a 10 mu experimental field and 1,151.6 kg per mu in a 100 mu experimental field this year.

Guo Jiucheng, deputy head of the Shandong provincial science and technology bureau, said on Thursday that Li's research aims to improve the corn's yield to 1,350 kg per mu by 2020 and 1,400 kg per mu by 2025.

Li said he will select wild corn plants for the research to help boost the yield.

With less than 10 percent of the world's farmland, China produces one-fourth of the world's grain and can feed its 1.3 billion people on its own.

To ensure food security, the country must continue to boost grain production. Experts said that corn is expected to account for half of the country's grain increase in the future.

China's corn output has jumped 43 percent in the previous four crop years and reached 217 million tons in 2013.