Recently, the 2025 Shanghai Yangtze River Delta Rice New and Superior Varieties Exhibition Conference on High-Quality Seed Development was held in Chongming District of Shanghai. The event focused on green germplasm, scientific breeding, and regional collaboration to facilitate deeper exchanges, enabling more ordinary citizens to enjoy these delicious and glutinous new rice varieties. Attendees included CAE Members, the China Seed Association, the Shanghai Municipal Agriculture Commission, representatives from domestic research institutions, seed industry associations, agricultural technology centers of various Shanghai districts, and directors from seed industry enterprises.
The conference on that day ultimately selected the No. 19 Shanghai Normal University and other varieties as the top 10 superior and potential rice varieties for the 2025 Yangtze River Delta region.
Shangshida No. 19 is a long-grained, aromatic, soft-japonica rice variety developed through years of research by Professor Li Jianyue and Associate Professor Zhao Guochao from the College of Life Sciences at Shanghai Normal University. This variety was first trialed on a small scale in 2016 at the Shanghai Shangshi Modern Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. in Chongming. Using hybridization and back-crossing methods combined with molecular marker-assisted techniques, the breeding team successfully developed the first long-grained, aromatic soft-japonica rice variety in the Yangtze River Delta region. The research team from the College of Life Sciences at Shanghai Normal University, along with Jiafeng Seed Co., Ltd., has reached a cooperation agreement for the industrial development of the rice variety in provinces outside the Yangtze River Delta, marking the official launch of its nationwide expansion. Additionally, samples of Shangshida No. 19 rice from the Qian Dongnan Miao villages in Guizhou, located at altitudes of 600-800 meters, were also showcased at the conference. This demonstrated its adaptability to different ecological regions and provided a reference for its cross-regional promotion.
