Application of Indica Restorer Line, Minghui 63, for Rice Hybridization

The restorer line Minghui63 of hybrid rice was most widely utilized, popular for the longest time, the largest planting area, and most significant yield increasing in hybrid rice combinations bred during past 30 years. In the meanwhile, it will be continued to play a unique role in hybrid rice bred in China. So Minghui63 was a milestone as one of the main parents to breed restorer lines for the renewal of hybrid rice combinations. With the extension of hybrid rice in the world, Minghui63, the restorer line was widely crossed to prepare new hybrid rice combinations with different male sterile lines of hybrid rice. Up to 2009, there were 34 combinations of hybrid rice approved by the national and provincial crop variety registration committee, and four of them were approved by the national authorities in China. The statistics indicated that the total planting area of hybrid rice combinations derived from Minghui63 was 84.144 million hectare, about 24.51% of the total planting area of hybrid rice in China from 1984 to 2009. Furthermore, Up to 2009, 544 new restorer lines were bred successfully derived from Minghui63 as the main parent in China. 924 combinations of hybrid rice with these new restorer lines were approved by the national and provincial crop variety registration committee. The total planting area of hybrid rice combinations from these new restorer lines derived from one of parent Minghui63 was 81.093 million hectare, about 28.23% of the total growing area of hybrid rice in China from 1990 to 2009. Moreover, Minghui63 was a germplasm for molecular biology research. There were mainly forty three genes mapped in the different chromosome of Minghui63, and nine of them had been cloned. On molecular breeding of Minghui63, it were mainly transplanted or introgressed insect、herbicide、blast、Bacterial blight、brown planthopper resistance gene and Yield-enhancing QTL。At the last, the theory of four characteristics integrated comprising high yield, good quality, stress resistance and wide adaptability was put forward based on practice of hybrid rice bred and prospecting breeding of super hybrid rice in the future.