Fei Wang

Genetic Improvements in Rice Yield and Concomitant Increases in Radiation- and Nitrogen-Use Efficiency in Middle Reaches of Yangtze River.

The yield potential of rice (Oryza sativa L.) has experienced two significant growth periods that coincide with the introduction of semi-dwarfism and the utilization of heterosis. In present study, we determined the annual increase in the grain yield of rice varieties grown from 1936 to 2005 in Middle Reaches of Yangtze River and examined the contributions of RUE (radiation-use efficiency, the conversion efficiency of pre-anthesis intercepted global radiation to biomass) and NUE (nitrogen-use efficiency, the ratio of grain yield to aboveground N accumulation) to these improvements. An examination of the 70-year period showed that the annual gains of 61.9 and 75.3 kg ha−1 in 2013 and 2014, respectively, corresponded to an annual increase of 1.18 and 1.16% in grain yields, respectively. The improvements in grain yield resulted from increases in the harvest index and biomass, and the sink size (spikelets per panicle) was significantly enlarged because of breeding for larger panicles. Improvements were observed in RUE and NUE through advancements in breeding. Moreover, both RUE and NUE were significantly correlated with the grain yield. Thus, our study suggests that genetic improvements in rice grain yield are associated with increased RUE and NUE.

Physiological Mechanisms Underlying the High-Grain Yield and High-Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Elite Rice Varieties under a Low Rate of Nitrogen Application in China.

Selecting rice varieties with a high nitrogen (N) use efficiency (NUE) is the best approach to reduce N fertilizer application in rice production and is one of the objectives of the Green Super Rice (GSR) Project in China. However, the performance of elite candidate GSR varieties under low N supply remains unclear. In the present study, differences in the grain yield and NUE of 13 and 14 candidate varieties with two controls were determined at a N rate of 100 kg ha−1 in field experiments in 2014 and 2015, respectively. The grain yield for all of the rice varieties ranged from 8.67 to 11.09 t ha−1, except for a japonica rice variety YG29, which had a grain yield of 6.42 t ha−1. HY549 and YY4949 produced the highest grain yield, reflecting a higher biomass production and harvest index in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Total N uptake at maturity (TNPM) ranged from 144 to 210 kg ha−1, while the nitrogen use efficiency for grain production (NUEg) ranged from 35.2 to 62.0 kg kg−1. Both TNPM and NUEg showed a significant quadratic correlation with grain yield, indicating that it is possible to obtain high grain yield and NUEg with the reduction of TNPM. The correlation between N-related parameters and yield-related traits suggests that promoting pre-heading growth could increase TNPM, while high biomass accumulation during the grain filling period and large panicles are important for a higher NUEg. In addition, there were significant and negative correlations between the NUEg and N concentrations in leaf, stem, and grain tissues at maturity. Further improvements in NUEg require a reduction in the stem N concentration but not the leaf N concentration. The daily grain yield was the only parameter that significantly and positively correlated with both TNPMand NUEg. This study determined variations in the grain yield and NUE of elite candidate GSR rice varieties and provided plant traits that could be used as selection criteria in breeding N-efficient rice varieties.

Changes in the Lodging-Related Traits along with Rice Genetic Improvement in China.

Rice yield potential was greatly improved since the green revolution, but the occurrence of lodging often restricts the achievement of potential yield. Currently, it is still obscure about how the lodging-related traits change along with the genetic improvement in yield potential of rice, although much efforts have been devoted to study the trend of and physiological mechanisms underlying changes in grain yield. Therefore, fourteen rice mega-varieties that were released and disseminated from 1930s to 2005 in China were investigated through a two-year experiment in the field condition. The results showed that large genotypic differences in lodging-related morphological traits were observed among these varieties. Lodging index (LI) of semi-dwarf varieties was significantly lower compared with that of SLX(Shenglixian). There were significant differences in LI among the semi-dwarf varieties, but no relationship between LI and the release year was found. Bending moment (BM) of semi-dwarf varieties released in 1940s-1980s was significantly lower than that of SLX. However, varieties released after 1980s had similar bending moment with SLX, but significantly higher breaking resistance (BR). The increase in both BM and BR after 1980s was related with the increase in internode diameter (ND) and stem fresh weight. Overall, this study disclosed the changing pattern of lodging-related traits in the genetic improvement of rice, and suggested that further increase in ND, internode dry weight (NDW) and dry weight per unit length (DWUL) of lower internode in modern super rice variety could effectively enhance lodging resistance and bring down LI.

Integrated crop management practices for maximizing grain yield of double-season rice crop

Information on maximum grain yield and its attributes are limited for double-season rice crop grown under the subtropical environment. This study was conducted to examine key characteristics associated with high yielding double-season rice crop through a comparison between an integrated crop management (ICM) and farmers’ practice (FP). Field experiments were conducted in the early and late seasons in the subtropical environment of Wuxue County, Hubei Province, China in 2013 and 2014. On average, grain yield in ICM was 13.5% higher than that in FP. A maximum grain yield of 9.40 and 10.53 t ha−1 was achieved under ICM in the early- and late-season rice, respectively. Yield improvement of double-season rice with ICM was achieved with the combined effects of increased plant density and optimized nutrient management. Yield gain of ICM resulted from a combination of increases in sink size due to more panicle number per unit area and biomass production, further supported by the increased leaf area index, leaf area duration, radiation use efficiency, crop growth rate, and total nitrogen uptake compared with FP. Further enhancement in the yield potential of double-season rice should focus on increasing crop growth rate and biomass production through improved and integrated crop management practices.

Overexpression of OsSAP16 Regulates Photosynthesis and the Expression of a Broad Range of Stress Response Genes in Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

This study set out to identify and characterize transcription factors regulating photosynthesis in rice. Screening populations of rice T-DNA activation lines led to the identification of a T-DNA mutant with an increase in intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE) under well-watered conditions. Flanking sequence analysis showed that the T-DNA construct was located upstream of LOC_Os07g38240 (OsSAP16) encoding for a stress-associated protein (SAP). A second mutant identified with activation in the same gene exhibited the same phenotype; expression of OsSAP16 was shown to be enhanced in both lines. There were no differences in stomatal development or morphology in either of these mutants, although overexpression of OsSAP16 reduced stomatal conductance. This phenotype limited CO2 uptake and the rate of photosynthesis, which resulted in the accumulation of less biomass in the two mutants. Whole transcriptome analysis showed that overexpression of OsSAP16 led to global changes in gene expression consistent with the function of zinc-finger transcription factors. These results show that the gene is involved in modulating the response of rice to drought stress through regulation of the expression of a set of stress-associated genes.

Rice Leaf Lateral Asymmetry in the Relationship between SPAD and Area-Based Nitrogen Concentration

Rice leaves display lateral asymmetry around the midrib, and the narrow side exhibits higher leaf area-based nitrogen concentration (Na) and soil plant analysis development (SPAD) values than the wider side. However, the difference in the relationship between the SPAD of each side and Na of the corresponding lateral half, and the optimal position along the leaf blade for SPAD measurements are not known. In this study, the relationship between SPAD and Na of both sides of the top three leaves was determined with 17 rice varieties grown over three growing seasons in two locations. The relationship between SPAD and Na displayed leaf lateral asymmetry, in which the wide side reflected a higher coefficient of determination than the narrow side. The ability to estimate Na of the whole leaf was slightly improved by averaging SPAD values across the leaf sides and measured points for the top two leaves. Apparently, it was more accurate and easier to measure SPAD readings on the wide side than the narrow side of rice leaf blade with respect to estimating plant N status. Due to the relatively poor relationship of the upper leaf, and the structural limit for SPAD measurements of the base, this study suggests that the most suitable and representative position for SPAD meter measurement on the leaf blade of rice is the lower-middle part from the leaf apex on the wide side.