A new rapeseed strain developed in China has produced a record yield, China Daily reported.
Developed by a team led by Wang Hanzhong, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and vice president of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the new rapeseed strain Zhongyouza 501 achieved a yield of 419.95kg/mu – a mu is the equivalent of about 0.07ha – in Xiangyang city, Central China's Hubei province.
With an oil content exceeding 50%, the strain produces 211.57kg/mu of rapeseed oil, according to the 29 April report, and is also resistant to disease and suitable for dense planting and mechanised harvesting.
A team of experts was invited to Hubei by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences to measure the new strain’s yield.
The average rapeseed yield in China is currently 138.5kg/mu with an average oil-bearing rate of 43%, according to Li Jiana, head of the expert group and professor at the College of Agronomy and Biotechnology of Southwest University.
Rapeseed oil is used extensively as a cooking oil in China.
