|
A rare indigenous rice species, which almost became extinct in the 1970s, is being revived in Hebei province. The variety, known as kermes rice for its red color similar to the dyestuff of the same name, has a history of more than 300 years and was once offered to the imperial court as a tribute during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). "It has not been easy, but I have developed more than 5 hectares of the crop since I got a handful of about 300 seeds from my friend Li Ming in Tangshan seven years ago," said Zheng Hehai, head of Tangshan Daoxiang Rice Co. In the 1970s, farmers turned away from kermes rice because of low yield and stopped planting the variety completely when it was banned by the Hebei government. But Li's father secretly hid some of the rice in his home. In 1984, Li found the rice and sowed the few dozen seeds that remained. The harvest became the seed source for current crops of kermes rice. One of 140,000 rice varieties in the world, kermes is indigenous to eastern Hebei. The plant is 30 cm taller than most rice species and is vulnerable to stalk-leaning. Its output is about 1,350 kg per hectare, compared with more than 6,000 kg for common varieties of rice, Zheng said. But all that has changed since the rare rice caught the attention of the Rice Research Institute of Hebei Agriculture and Forestry Academy. Improved kermes rice, which will be planted next year on Zheng's farm, will be shorter, 120 cm to 150 cm, and its growth period extended by 15 days. These changes will make the variety more economical to farm, while maintaining its taste. | 
