Recently, a new variety of edible lily, the "Zhongbai No. 1," bred by the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources (NIEER) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was granted plant variety rights by China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
This is the first edible lily variety in China to be granted plant variety rights. The new variety has a yield reaching 2,150 kg/mu (about 1,433kg/km2), far surpassing the traditional yield of the Lanzhou edible lily at 750–1,000 kg/mu (about 500–667kg/km2)
Researchers at the Lanzhou Eco-Agricultural Research Station of NIEER combined systematic breeding, hybrid breeding, and polyploid breeding techniques, and cultivated the "Zhongbai No. 1," a high-yield, high-quality edible lily variety.
Midwestern China is a center of the natural distribution and diversity of the genus Lilium. The researchers from the station analyzed the relationship and diversity of 11 Lilium species in this region and compared their homologous genes using comparative transcriptomics.
Read more at MSN