Simplified Cultivation Methods for Rice Production in a Rice-ratoon Rice Cropping System in Southwestern China

Abstract

\n Simplified cultivation methods for rice production offer considerable social, economic, and environmental benefits. However, limited information is available on yield components of rice grown using simplified cultivation methods in a rice-ratoon rice cropping system. A field experiment using two hybrids and two rice cultivars was conducted to compare four cultivation methods (conventional tillage and transplanting, CTTP; conventional tillage and direct seeding, CTDS; no-tillage and transplanting, NTTP; no-tillage and direct seeding, NTDS) in a rice-ratoon rice system from 2017–2020. Main season yields for CTDS and NTDS were higher than for CTTP, whereas ratoon season yields for CTDS and NTDS were equal to or higher than for CTTP. Annual grain yields for CTDS and NTDS were higher than for CTTP. The higher CTDS and NTDS yields were associated with higher panicle numbers per m2 and biomass production. Rice hybrids had significantly higher yields than inbred cultivars, which was attributed to high grain weight and biomass production. Our results suggest that CTTP can be replaced by CTDS and NTDS to maintain high grain yields and save labor costs. Developing cultivars with high grain weight could be a feasible approach to achieve high rice yields in the rice-ratoon rice cropping system in southwest China.