(NEWSPHOTO)

The yield of a hybrid rice breed developed by Yuan Longping, one of China's leading agricultural scientists, has exceeded 900 kg per mu (0.067 hectare), a new world record for rice output.

The rice breed, also called super rice, produced a harvest of 926.6 kg per mu during its trial plantation in Longhui County, central China's Hunan Province.

"I was delighted as it was very difficult to produce such a high yield of rice in such a large area," said 81-year-old Yuan. "This year's success showed China is leading the world in super hybrid rice research."

Yuan, dubbed China's "father of hybrid rice," started developing hybrid rice in the 1960s as part of the country's efforts to combat its starvation problem. He developed the first Chinese hybrid rice variety in 1974, which immediately increased grain output by 20 percent. His research team reached the target unit yields of 10.5 tons a hectare in 2000 and 12 tons a hectare in 2004, setting world records both times.

Yuan was awarded the World Food Prize in 2004 by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization for his contribution to creating a more abundant food supply that helps build a more stable world.