Night Temperature Determines the Interannual Yield Variation in Hybrid and Inbred Rice Widely Used in Central China Through Different Effects on Reproductive Growth.

Liying Huang,Yunbo Zhang,Yi Liu,Fei Wang

doi:10.3389/fpls.2021.646168

Liying Huang, Yunbo Zhang + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.646168

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Abstract

Interannual variation in grain yield of rice has been observed at both farm and regional scales, which is related to the climate variability. Previous studies focus on predicting the trend of climate change in the future and its potential effects on rice production using climate models; however, field studies are lacking to examine the climatic causes underlying the interannual yield variability for different rice cultivars. Here a 6-year field experiment from 2012 to 2017 was conducted using one hybrid (Yangliangyou6, YLY6) cultivar and one inbred (Huanghuazhan, HHZ) cultivar to determine the climate factors responsible for the interannual yield variation. A significant variation in grain yield was observed for both the inbred and hybrid cultivars across six planting years, and the coefficient of variation for grain yield was 7.3–10.5%. The night temperature (average daily minimum temperature, Tmin) contributed to the yield variability in both cultivars. However, the two cultivars showed different responses to the change in Tmin. The yield variation in HHZ was mainly explained by the effects of Tmin on grain filling percentage and grain weight, while the change in spikelets m−2 in response to Tmin accounted for the yield variability in YLY6. Further analysis found that spikelets m−2 of YLY6 significantly and negatively correlated with Tmin from transplanting to heading. For HHZ, the grain filling percentage and grain weight were significantly affected by Tmin of the week prior to heading and from heading to maturity, respectively. Overall, there were differences in the response mechanism between hybrid and inbred cultivars to high night temperature. These will facilitate the development of climate-resilient cultivars and appropriate management practices to achieve a stable grain yield.

Highlights

Rice is the staple food for more than half of the population in the world (Tao et al, 2014)
The yield variation in HHZ was mainly explained by the effects of Tmin on grain filling percentage and grain weight, while the change in spikelets m−2 in response to Tmin accounted for the yield variability in YLY6
The objectives of the study were to (1) determine the degree of interannual variation in grain yield for the inbred and hybrid cultivars, (2) identify the environmental factors contributing to inter-annual variation in rice grain yield in Central China, and (3) examine the agronomic traits that could be used for developing climate-resilient rice

Summary

Introduction

Rice is the staple food for more than half of the population in the world (Tao et al, 2014). Rice production must increase by 20% to meet the growing demand for food in China (Huang and Zou, 2018). As the arable land area decreases year by year due to the rapid development of urbanization, increasing rice yield per unit area has become an effective way to increase rice production (An et al, 2018). The maximum yield potential of irrigated rice reaches as high as 15.0 t ha−1 in China because of the development of super hybrid cultivars through the combination of interspecific heterosis and ideotype, and adopting the optimized management practices (Cheng et al, 2007; Peng et al, 2008; Sun et al, 2013). Identifying the causal environmental factors contributing to the yield variation across planting years would provide the breeding target in the future to further reduce the yield gap in rice

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