Objective A hybrid rice integrating strong blast resistance, superior grain quality, and high yield potential was bred to meet the growing demands for improved food security and sustainable rice farming.

Method By analyzing the gene haplotypes, the aromatic restorer Fuhui 2153 that carries the blast resistance genes (e.g., Pid2 and Pia) was selected to cross with the disease-resistant, high-quality male sterile Shen 9A that harbored Pigm. For 5 years in the multi-environment trials at 8 different locations, the hybrid progenies generated from the cross-breeding were carefully screened by functional genes detection and phenotypic examinations.

Result Officially identified as Min Approved Rice No. 20241013, Shen-9-You-2153 had a growth period of 122.1 d, which was 3.2 d shorter than that of control cultivar, Yiyou 673, a yield of 7,759.5 kg·hm⁻², which was 2.9% higher than that of control, and a collection of 29 desirable genes including the blast resistant Pid2, Pid3, Pia, Pigm, and Pita. Its grain quality surpassed the national first-class standards for edible rice with 0.4% chalkiness and 15.3% amylose. And the plants showed a stable moderate resistance to rice blast in a 2-years field evaluation.

Conclusion Shen-9-You-2153 overcame oftentimes inevitable trade-offs on yield, disease resistance, and grain quality in selective breeding to simultaneously achieved improvements on all the desirable traits. It could become a flagship cultivar for sustainable rice farming in southern China contributing to the betterment in national food security.