Newly integrated rice-crayfish farming achieves record high yield in China

Xiayou 100, a new rice variety cultivated for integrated rice-crayfish farming, has achieved an average yield of 634.7 kilograms per mu (9520.5 kilograms per hectare) in east China's Jiangsu Province, 100 kilograms higher than the national standard.

Developed by the Agricultural Sciences Institute in the Jiangsu Lixiahe Area for five years, the Xiayou 100 is categorized as indica rice, featuring green and strong leaves, neat grouping, and lodging-resistance.

It is the first rice variety cultivated for integrated rice-crayfish farming in Jiangsu Province, said Li Aihong, director of the institute.

It has been approved as a new variety in the province this year, and planted in more than 333 hectares in demonstration fields in Yangzhou city and Huaian city, Li added.

Xiayou 100 has won a gold medal, because it is a suitable ingredient for Yangzhou fried rice, a popular Chinese wok fried rice dish, and contributes to the development of the local dish's industrial chain.

Jiangsu has set up a demonstration zone in Qingfeng village to develop a rice-crayfish integrated farming system, in which rice fields are used to raise crayfish, harvesting rice once, crayfish twice and crayfish seedlings once a year.

This mode can increase rice output and quality and raise large crayfish. It can also greatly increase economic benefits, reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers, and protect soil and water, said Zhang Jiahong, a researcher at the Agricultural Sciences Institute in the Jiangsu Lixiahe Area.