1913.10.20～1997.06.28

遺傳育種學家。江蘇蘇州人。1936年畢業(yè)于浙江大學農學院。1944～1948年留學美國，先后獲康奈爾大學碩士和哲學博士學位。中國農業(yè)科學院作物育種栽培研究所研究員。中國利用雜種優(yōu)勢理論選育玉米自交系間雜交種的開創(chuàng)者。他育成的多抗性豐產玉米雜交種“中單2號”，1982年以來每年種植面積在二、三千萬畝以上，是全國推廣面積最大的玉米雜交種，增產顯著，獲國家發(fā)明一等獎；開拓我國玉米品質育種、群體改良和基因雄性不育研究，都取得顯著進展；主持國家“六五”、“七五”玉米育種科技攻關成績斐然，對發(fā)展我國玉米育種事業(yè)和玉米生產做出了重大貢獻。

1980年當選為中國科學院院士（學部委員）。

Genetic breeder. Born in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. Graduated from the College of Agriculture, Zhejiang University in 1936. Studied in the USA from 1944 to 1948 and received M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the Cornell University. Professor, Institute of Crop Breeding and Cultivation, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

Li is the founder of the self-line hybridization of corn based on heterosis theory. He developed “Zhongdan No.2”, a corn hybrid resistant to multiple stresses. This high-yield hybrid has been widely grown in China since 1982, with a total planting area of between 1.5 to 2 million hectares per year, and has become the most widely cultivated corn hybrid in China. He won a first class prize of the National Invention Award. He opened up the studies on the quality breeding, population improvement and genetic male sterility and has made significant progress. He was in charge of the corn breeding programs of the State key scientific and technological tasks during the Sixth and Seventh Five-Year Plan periods and made great achievements. He has made important contributions to the corn breeding and production in China.

He was elected Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1980.