水稻是中国最重要的口粮作物,新品种的培育与推广对水稻生产作出了重大贡献。中国现代水稻育种起步于20世纪20年代,已有百年历程,期间纯系育种、杂交育种、诱变育种和分子育种等技术成为技术主体,成就了矮化育种、杂交稻育种和超级稻育种三次突破,推进了全国水稻平均单产从20世纪50年代的200 kg/667 m²平台跃上了当前的470 kg/667 m²平台。展望未来百年的水稻产业需求,培育C4水稻、固氮水稻、耐盐碱水稻、耐旱水稻和一系杂交稻是水稻育种面临的重大任务。

Rice is the most important staple crop in China. Breeding and application of new rice cultivars have made a huge contribution to China’s rice production. China’s modern rice breeding was originated in 1920s and under went one-hundred years. During this period, pure line selection, hybridization breeding, mutation breeding and molecular breeding were developed as main techniques for rice improvement in China. They produced three breakthroughs of rice breeding, i.e. semi-dwarf breeding, heterosis breeding and super rice breeding, which resulted in enhancing the China’s rice production from 200 kg/667 m² in 1950s to 470 kg/667 m² in current year. To meet the food demands in the future, it is significant to breed new varietal types such C4 rice, nitrogen-fixation rice, saline-alkali tolerance rice, drought tolerance rice and apomixes rice etc.