High-yield corn breed prospers in China

ZHENGZHOU - A domestically developed breed of corn has been utilized on an increasing number of Chinese farms, allowing farmers to reap social and economic benefits, the corn's developer said.

"Jundan" corn can now be found on more than 133,000 square km of Chinese farmland, said Cheng Xiangwen, head of the group that originally developed the hybrid corn breed.

Cheng, also head of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences of the city of Hebi in central China's Henan province, said the benefits gained by the farmers could be valued at more than 15 billion yuan ($2.4 billion) since the corn was introduced.

The latest Jundan strain, the "Jundan 20," went into use in 2000 after 19 years of research and breeding.

The corn, a hybrid of a North American breed and a Thai breed, boasts high yields, a resistance to pests and multiple applications. Its output of 15,279 kg per hectare previously allowed China to set a summer corn production record.