'Father of rice' slams world record by Indian farmer  

印度農民稻米單產創世界紀錄 袁隆平批“吹牛皮”

針對印度稻米單產水平創出新世界記錄的消息，中國“雜交水稻之父”袁隆平院士20日回應稱：“百分之一百二的假家伙，吹牛皮”。

Changsha (CNS) – Chinese agricultural scientist Yuan Longping said on Wednesday that Sumant Kumar's world record for rice output is completely bogus.

The Guardian reported Tuesday that Kumar, a farmer in the village of Darveshpura, located in India's poorest state Bihar, had grown 22.4 tons of rice on one hectare of land, overtaking the world record of 19.4 tons achieved by Yuan.

"It's 100 percent fake," said Mr. Yuan, also known as the "father of rice."

"The System of Rice Intensification that Kumar uses was introduced to China by me. The yield of high-yield rice could only have increased by 10-15 percent in low-yield regions," he said.

"Top-quality seeds, advanced cultivation methods, fertile farmlands and well-conditioned weather are four necessities to increase high-yield rice output," Yuan added. "Given that India received a lot of rain and little sunshine last year, farmers could not have grown huge amounts of rice in the absence of photosynthesis."

"Kumar's growing methods are actually Bayer rice hybridization that could possibly produce 10 tons on one hectare of land," said Yuan, who also questioned the way Indian scientists had verified Kumar's growing principle: "How did they figure out the data after the harvesting was already done, leaving roots in the field?"

According to the Guardian report, Kumar's record was not accepted by the Indian government at first, and there were accusations of cheating by scientists at Bihar University before experts confirmed the results.