Xin Hui Xiao Nong Zhan

Xin Hui Xiao Nong Zhan

　　   Xin Hui Xiao Nong Zhan is a high-quality late indica rice variety of the Si Miao type, bred in 1982 by Li Guanghan, a senior agronomist at the Xin Hui Agricultural Science Center.

    Xiao Nong Zhan is thermosensitive and weakly photoperiod-sensitive. Sown in early July, it has a total growth period of 125 days. The plant height ranges from 95 to 100 centimeters, with strong tillering ability, yielding an effective panicle count of 200,000–210,000 per mu. It features large panicles with abundant grains—averaging 103.1 grains per panicle—with a setting rate of 93.4% and a 1,000-grain weight of 16.7 grams. The plant structure is compact, with upright leaves in the mid-to-late stages, small leaf angles, and good leaf color. It demonstrates strong stress resistance, fertilizer tolerance, and resistance to rice planthoppers (Grade 2.8), with an overall resistance to rice blast of 69.2%. The rice grains have an excellent commercial appearance—glossy and translucent with no belly white. The brown rice rate is 78.6%, and the milled rice rate is 70.3%. It offers superior cooking quality, good elongation, balanced softness and hardness, a smooth texture, rich flavor, and is classified as special first-grade rice.

    Since its development over a decade ago, in addition to being widely cultivated in counties and cities such as Zhongshan, Taishan, Doumen, Gaoyao, and Longmen, the variety has also been extensively introduced in provinces such as Guangxi, Jiangsu, and Hubei. By the end of 1996, the cumulative planting area had reached 2.096 million mu, making it a high-yield, stable-yield, and broadly adaptable high-quality rice variety.