Panicle Branches Research Articles

Automated Counting Grains on the Rice Panicle Based on Deep Learning Method.

Grain number per rice panicle, which directly determines grain yield, is an important agronomic trait for rice breeding and yield-related research. However, manually counting grains of rice per panicle is time-consuming, laborious, and error-prone. In this research, a grain detection model was proposed to automatically recognize and count grains on primary branches of a rice panicle. The model used image analysis based on deep learning convolutional neural network (CNN), by integrating the feature pyramid network (FPN) into the faster R-CNN network. The performance of the grain detection model was compared to that of the original faster R-CNN model and the SSD model, and it was found that the grain detection model was more reliable and accurate. The accuracy of the grain detection model was not affected by the lighting condition in which images of rice primary branches were taken. The model worked well for all rice branches with various numbers of grains. Through applying the grain detection model to images of fresh and dry branches, it was found that the model performance was not affected by the grain moisture conditions. The overall accuracy of the grain detection model was 99.4%. Results demonstrated that the model was accurate, reliable, and suitable for detecting grains of rice panicles with various conditions.

Panicle branching behaviour of rice Inpari IR Nutri Zinc

As a staple food, rice can be used as a bio fortification. For this necessity, Indonesian Agency for Agriculture Research and Development (IAARD) developed rice variety which was rich of Zn content to overcome child stunting. To understand the panicle branching behavior of Inpari IR Nutri Zinc, we collected panicle branching data from different sites and agronomical practices. Data were collected from three locations in West Java, i.e Cianjur, Majalengka, and Ciamis during May until October 2020. Among sites showed a significant differences of panicle branching. The best performance of Inpari IR Nutri Zinc panicle branching was showed at Majalengka rather than Ciamis and Cianjur. It was predicted because of temperature differences, as Cianjur’s was higher than those Majalengka’s and Ciamis’. Based on planting space, L5 was better than that L2 in number of grains per panicle, number of primary branches, number of secondary branches, total length of primary branches, and number of filled-grain per panicle characters. Meanwhile, L2 in Majalengka and Ciamis showed higher value in three panicle branching characters. Further, the L2 in Majalengka showed higher value and significantly difference than that in Ciamis in seven panicles branching characters bio pesticide application also affected some panicle branching characters significantly.

West Java local rice panicle branching architecture

As local varieties of rice have a very important role as a source of valuable traits in developing high yielding variety through plant breeding programs, it is needed to be characterized. Panicle branching characterization is one of the efforts to understand local varieties of rice characteristics more. We have observed thirtheen characters of panicle branching on 24 West Java local rice varieties. Five panicles of each varieties as accession was observed and statistical analysed. Tukey’s Honest Significant Difference (HSD) test showed differences among accessions in all panicle branching characteristics observed. Based on Principles Component Analysis (PCA), the panicle branching characters observed generally showed the same direction, but among them were not always to be correlated. In the result of clustering based on the ward linkage method, the accessions were divided into two clusters. The first one had 8 members, and the second one had 16 members. The cophenetic correlation coefficient was 0.60, indicated that the clustering through standardized value was faithfully enough to represent the original distances. The result of this research can provide the information for breeder in selecting rice genotypes which have more seeds per panicle as parent in assembling new high yielding rice varieties.

Genetic Analysis of Tertiary Rice Panicle Branches

Panicle branching trait of rice is one of the key factors in detemining grain yield. This study was aimed to elucidate the genetic inheritance pattern of the tertiary rice panicle branches trait. Six rice populations i.e F1, F1R, F2, F2R, BC1P1, and BC1P2 generation including parental lines were generated as materials. The experiment was conducted at IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia from April 2017 to February 2019. Several parameters of genetic inheritance was observed. The result revealed that the inheritance of the tertiary panicle branching was controlled by many genes with the high broad-sense heritability and the moderate narrow-sense ones. Based on the scaling test, it was observed that additive dominant model did not fit to the number of tertiary branches and the number of grains of tertiary panicle branches. These phenomenons suspected may due probably to the effect of epistasis. In the advanced analysis employed by using the joint scaling test revealed that the gene action of the number of tertiary branches and number of grains on the tertiary branches were additive and additive×additive.

Survey and Collection of Maize Cultivars in Benin and Evaluation of Their Agro-Morphological Characteristics

Seeds are the most important input in agricultural production. Quality seed determines the yield of the crop and contribute to nearly 30% of crop productivity. The present study aims at surveying and collecting maize accessions in the township of North, Centre and South Benin and for their agro-morphological characterization. To this end, 32 accessions were collected from 11 townships of Benin. The villages for maize collection were chosen with the help of the heads of the association of producers in each township. The cultivars collected were put in different envelopes properly labelled. In order to evaluate the agro-morphological characteristics of the cultivars, four experiments were set up in Bassila, Glazoue, N'Dali and Adjohoun. Eighteen (18) quantitative parameters were measured at each site. The statistical analyses for the different quantitative characters showed that there was a great diversity between cultivars. The significant differences (p< 0.001) between cultivars for the different quantitative traits confirmed the diversity that existed between these cultivars. The observed diversity among cultivars were due to plant height, developmental life cycle, ear and yield parameters. These descriptors are therefore the most important to explain the variability among cultivars. Positive correlations were observed among traits. Thus, the cultivars of great high had large crown, long panicle branching, higher ear insertion height, long leaves and an average number of leaves above the ear. Cultivars with long panicles showed large and long spikes, higher panicle branching and a high number of primary panicle branches

ПРОБЛЕМЫ ПОВЫШЕНИЯ ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ ПРОИЗВОДСТВА СЕМЯН СОРГОВЫХ КУЛЬТУР В АЛТАЙСКОМ КРАЕ И ПУТИ ИХ РЕШЕНИЯ

The yield potential of sorghum crops is reached through the varieties. The crops under study use atmospheric pre-cipitation very economically and efficiently; high carbohy-drate content in their herbage makes them valuable com-ponents of multi-species agrophytocenosis with high-protein crops. One of the reasons of insufficient distribution of sorghum crops is a problem of seed production. The use of seeds with low germinating ability leads to high produc-tion costs and low yields. Early ripening, mid-early and mid-ripening varieties persistently mature and produce full val-ue seeds in the Altai Region. They produce good quality seeds practically on any years regarding heat supply; their seed production causes no problem.However, they signifi- АГРОНОМИЯ28Вестник Алтайского государственного аграрного университета No8(202), 2021cantly underperform regarding forage production as com-pared to mid-late and late varieties. Large seed losses (up to 50-70%) are caused by seed cast in windy weather. The average seed cast losses in upright standing plant forms reach 48.0% while in dropping forms the losses are three times lower. The solution is the optimization of plant forms. Other approaches should be applied to seed cast problem solution. A direction of the plant breeding is the develop-ment of the varieties resistant to seed cast characterized by high seed tear-away force from panicle branches. Seed production plots of sorghum crops should be sown on ear-lier dates. Delayed sowing prevents from meeting the growing season timeline, especially of late forms. The seeding rate of 2.5 million seeds per hectare was optimum not only for seed production, but also for forage production. Special attention should be paid to the phosphorus nutrition of maternal plants. Early varieties should be harvested in two-stages; late varieties -by straight-cutting.

Exploration and Validation of the Potential Downstream Genes Underlying ipa1-2D Locus for Rice Panicle Branching

In recent years, some super hybrid rice varieties were bred with strong culms and large panicles, which are mainly contributed by the <i>ipa1-2D</i> locus. A gain-of-function allele of <i>OsSPL14</i> is the <i>ipa1-2D</i> and it can greatly increase the panicle primary branch number. However, the key downstream genes mediating this trait variation are not fully explored. In this study, we developed high-quality near-isogenic lines (NILs) with a difference of only 30 kb chromosomal segment covering the <i>ipa1-2D</i> locus. Using the NILs, we explored the impact of <i>ipa1-2D</i> on five sequential stages of early inflorescence development, and found that the locus can greatly enhance the initiation of primary branch meristems. A transcriptomic analysis was performed to unveil the downstream molecular network of <i>ipa1-2D</i>, and 87 genes were found differentially expressed, many of which are involved in metabolism and catalysis processes. In addition, transgenic lines of overexpression and RNA interference were generated to shape different levels of <i>OsSPL14</i>. They were also used to validate the expression variation explored by transcriptome. Based on the gene annotation, twelve potential downstream targets of <i>ipa1-2D</i> were selected, and their expression variation was confirmed by qRT-PCR analysis both in NILs and transgenic lines. This research expands the molecular network underlying <i>ipa1-2D</i> and provides novel gene information which might be involved in the control of panicle branching. We discussed the potential function of identified genes and highlighted their values for future function exploration and breeding application.

Principal Component Analysis of Early Generation Drought Tolerant Tef Genotypes for Yield-contributing Traits

The present investigation was carried out to determine the relationship and genetic variability among 49 tef inbred line using principal component analysis for drought prone areas. To improve tef productivity, farmers need high-yielding and drought tolerant tef cultivars. The objective of this research is to evaluate genetic diversity among drought tolerant tef inbred lines for yield, yield-contributing traits. In this study, Component I had the contribution from the traits <i>viz.</i>, days to heading, days to physiological maturity, plant height, panicle length, culm length, number of spikelets per panicle, number of primary panicle branches per main shoot, lodging index, above-ground biomass and harvest index which accounted 40% to the total variability. Grain filling period, number of total tillers per plant, number of fertile tillers per plant, days to mature, peduncle length, number of florets per spikelet and thousand-seed weight has contributed 14% to the total variability in component II. The remaining variability of 13%, 7% and 6% was consolidated in component III, component IV and component V by various traits like days to seedling emergence, culm length, peduncle length, lodging index, above-ground biomass yield, grain yield, harvest index, number of total and fertile tillers per plant. The cumulative variance of 79% of total variation among 18 characters was explained by the first five axes. Thus, the results of principal component analysis revealed, wide genetic variability exists in this drought tolerant tef inbred lines. Drought tolerant traits with high genetic variability are expected to provide high level of gene transfer during breeding programs.

Arundinella stenostachya (Arundinella, Poaceae), a re-evaluated new species from SE Asia

Arundinella stenostachya, a new species, is described and illustrated. It is morphologically similar to A. decempedalis and A. bengalensis, but differs from the former species by the length of panicle branches, type of trichome on nodes and pedicels length, and from the latter in height and diameter of culms, the length and width of leaf blades, pedicels length, and the length of panicles and branches. The new species has been mistakenly identified as A. decempedalis and A. bengalensis. Molecular analyses based on ITS sequences also support A. stenostachya as a distinct species.

Phytohormone-Mediated Molecular Mechanisms Involving Multiple Genes and QTL Govern Grain Number in Rice.

Increasing the grain number is the most direct route toward enhancing the grain yield in cereals. In rice, grain number can be amplified through increasing the shoot branching (tillering), panicle branching, panicle length, and seed set percentage. Phytohormones have been conclusively shown to control the above characteristics by regulating molecular factors and their cross-interactions. The dynamic equilibrium of cytokinin levels in both shoot and inflorescence meristems, maintained by the regulation of its biosynthesis, activation, and degradation, determines the tillering and panicle branching, respectively. Auxins and gibberellins are known broadly to repress the axillary meristems, while jasmonic acid is implicated in the determination of reproductive meristem formation. The balance of auxin, gibberellin, and cytokinin determines meristematic activities in the inflorescence. Strigolactones have been shown to repress the shoot branching but seem to regulate panicle branching positively. Ethylene, brassinosteroids, and gibberellins regulate spikelet abortion and grain filling. Further studies on the optimization of endogenous hormonal levels can help in the expansion of the grain yield potential of rice. This review focuses on the molecular machinery, involving several genes and quantitative trait loci (QTL), operational in the plant that governs hormonal control and, in turn, gets governed by the hormones to regulate grain number and yield in rice.

The abscisic acid receptor OsPYL6 confers drought tolerance to indica rice through dehydration avoidance and tolerance mechanisms.

Abscisic acid (ABA) is a key regulator of plant development and stress tolerance. Here we report functional validation of the ABA receptor OsPYL6 by constitutive and stress-inducible overexpression and RNAi silencing, in an indica rice cultivar 'Pusa Sugandh 2'. Overexpression of OsPYL6 conferred ABA hypersensitivity during germination and promoted total root length. Overexpression and RNAi silencing of OsPYL6 resulted in enhanced accumulation of ABA in seedlings under non-stress conditions, at least, in part through up-regulation of different 9-cis epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED )genes. This suggests that PYL6 expression is crucial for ABA homeostasis. Analysis of drought tolerance of OsPYL6 transgenic and wild type plants showed that OsPYL6 overexpression enhanced the expression of stress-responsive genes and dehydration tolerance. Transgenic rice plants overexpressing OsPYL6 with AtRD29A (Arabidopsis thaliana Responsive to Dehydration 29A) promoter also exhibited about 25% less whole plant transpiration, compared with wild type plants under drought, confirming its role in activation of dehydration avoidance mechanisms. However, overexpression of PYL6 reduced grain yield under non-stress conditions due to reduction in height, biomass, panicle branching and spikelet fertility. RNAi silencing of OsPYL6 also reduced grain yield under drought. These results showed that rice OsPYL6 is a key regulator of plant development and drought tolerance, and fine-tuning of its expression is critical for improving yield and stress tolerance.

Festuca drakensbergensis (Poaceae): A common new species in the F. caprina complex from the Drakensberg Mountain Centre of Floristic Endemism, southern Africa, with key and notes on taxa in the complex including the overlooked F. exaristata.

We present taxonomic notes on the Festuca caprina complex from southern Africa that includes description and illustration of the new species F. drakensbergensis from the Drakensberg Mountain Centre of Floristic Endemism of South Africa and Lesotho. Festuca drakensbergensis can be differentiated from F. caprina s.l. by forming lax short tufts with extravaginally-branching tillers and lateral-tending cataphyllous shoots or rhizomes present, basal foliage reaching < ½ the length of the culms, with generally shorter leaves and shorter anthers, 0.8−1.6(−1.8) mm long. The species also differs from the overlooked species F. exaristata – currently known from two collections from Lesotho − by its fibrous basal sheaths, usually sharp, keel-like leaf blade midrib, drooping panicle with lightly to densely scabrous pendent panicle branches, longer lemmas, 4.5−5.8 mm long, with awns usually present, 0.5–3 mm long, ovary apices sparsely to densely hairy and anthers 0.8−1.6(−1.8) mm long. Taxonomic notes on the different taxa of the F. caprina complex in southern Africa are also provided, including images, key, and lectotypification of F. caprina var. curvula. This research adds a further two endemic species (F. drakensbergensis and F. exaristata) and two endemic varieties (F. caprina var. irrasa and F. caprina var. macra) to the Drakensberg Mountain Centre of Floristic Endemism.

MicroRNAs as potential targets for improving rice yield via plant architecture modulation: Recent studies and future perspectives

Ensuring agricultural food security is a major concern for the future world, and being the second most consumed crop, rice yield needs an urgent upliftment. Grain yield is a pleiotropic trait that employs a plethora of genes functioning in complex signalling cascades. The yield related genes are controlled by various regulatory factors including the microRNAs (miRNAs), the small 20-22 nucleotide (nt) non-coding RNAs, which have emerged as the master ribo-regulators of eukaryotic genes. Plant miRNAs can bind to highly complementary sequences in the target messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and negatively regulate gene expression to coordinate the various biological processes involved in plant development. In rice, an ideal plant architecture (IPA) has been regarded as the key to attain high yield and several miRNAs have been deciphered to play important roles in orchestrating vital regulatory procedures for achieving optimum plant morphological yield related traits like less unproductive tillers, more panicle branches and heavier grains. In this review, we present and discuss the various genetic engineering strategies undertaken to manipulate the miRNA-mRNA expression levels in order to achieve improved grain output by modulation of rice plant architecture and recent advances made in this regard.

The MYB transcription factor TaPHR3-A1 is involved in phosphate signaling and governs yield-related traits in bread wheat.

Improved inorganic phosphate (Pi) use efficiency in crops will be important for sustainable agriculture. Exploring molecular mechanisms that regulate Pi uptake could provide useful information for breeding wheat with improved Pi use efficiency. Here, a TaPHR3-A1 (Gene ID: TraesCS7A02G415800) ortholog of rice OsPHR3 that functions in transcriptional regulation of Pi signaling was cloned from wheat chromosome 7A. Ectopic expression of TaPHR3-A1 in Arabidopsis and rice produced enhanced vegetative growth and more seeds. Overexpression in transgenic rice led to increased biomass, grain number, and primary panicle branching by 61.23, 42.12, and 36.34% compared with the wild type. Transgenic wheat lines with down-regulation of TaPHR3-A1 exhibited retarded growth and root hair development at the seedling stage, and showed yield-related effects at the adult stage when grown in both low- and sufficient Pi conditions, indicating that TaPHR3-A1 positively regulated tolerance to low Pi. Introgression lines further confirmed the effect of TaPHR3-A1 in improving grain number. The Chinese wheat mini core collection and a recombinant inbred line analysis demonstrated that the favorable allele TaPHR3-A1-A associated with higher grain number was positively selected in breeding. A TaPHR3-A1-derived cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence marker effectively identified haplotype TaPHR3-A1-A. Our results suggested that TaPHR3-A1 was a functional regulatory factor for Pi uptake and provided useful information for marker-assisted selection for high yield in wheat.

GNP6, a novel allele of MOC1, regulates panicle and tiller development in rice

The yield of rice is mostly affected by three factors, namely, panicle number, grain number and grain weight. Variation in panicle and grain numbers is mainly caused by tiller and panicle branches generated from axillary meristems (AMs). MOC1 encodes a putative GRAS family nuclear protein that regulates AM formation. Although several alleles of MOC1 have been identified, its variation in germplasm resources remains unclear. In the present study we characterized a novel moc1 allele named gnp6 which has a thymine insertion in the coding sequence of the SAW motif in the GRAS domain. This mutation causes arrested branch formation. The SAW motif is necessary for nuclear localization of GNP6/MOC1 where it functions as a transcription factor or co-regulator. Haplotype analysis showed that the coding region of GNP6/MOC1 was conserved without any non-synonymous mutations in 240 rice accessions. However, variation in the promoter region might affect the expression of it and its downstream genes. Joint haplotype analysis of GNP6/MOC1 and MOC3 showed that haplotype combinations H9, H10 and H11, namely MOC1-Hap1 in combination with MOC3-Hap3, MOC3-Hap4 or MOC3-Hap5 could be bred to promote branch formation. These findings will enrich the genetic resources available for rice breeders.

Genetic variability and multivariate analyses in coloured sorghum landraces (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) of Tamil Nadu

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench) is a versatile crop grown in more than 100 countries in tropics and semi arid regions for food, fodder, fuel and fiber. Red sorghum is noted for its rich phenolic content and specifically 3-deoxyanthocyanin content that lacks hydroxyl group at C-3 position. A total of 80 sorghum landraces collected from various sources from Tamil Nadu were evaluated during Kharif, 2019 to record morphological diversity present in the accessions. The 12 quantitative traits were recorded stage wise following IIMR DUS descriptor. The quantitative data collected from 80 sorghum landraces were statistically analyzed by variability study and association study. The high PCV and GCV were recorded for height upto flag leaf, flower length, panicle emergence, total height, panicle length, panicle branch length, panicle neck length, thousand grain weight and single plant yield. The moderate level of GCV and PCV was recorded for leaf length and leaf width. The trait stem diameter showed high PCV and moderate GCV. The variability study indicated that more variations were found in the population which facilitates efficient selection. The grain yield was positively related with leaf width and thousand grain weight. The yield was negatively influenced by height upto flag leaf, flower length, total height, panicle length, panicle neck length and panicle emergence. The results of correlation analysis revealed that the selection for high yielding landraces can be carried out phenotypically by selecting landraces with high grain weight, early panicle emergence, lesser height upto flag leaf, reduced neck length, reduced flower length and more leaf width to develop a desired high yielding sorghum variety.

Identification of Key Genes for the Ultrahigh Yield of Rice Using Dynamic Cross-tissue Network Analysis

Significantly increasing crop yield is a major and worldwide challenge for food supply and security. It is well-known that rice cultivated at Taoyuan in Yunnan of China can produce the highest yield worldwide. Yet, the gene regulatory mechanism underpinning this ultrahigh yield has been a mystery. Here, we systematically collected the transcriptome data for seven key tissues at different developmental stages using rice cultivated both at Taoyuan as the case group and at another regular rice planting place Jinghong as the control group. We identified the top 24 candidate high-yield genes with their network modules from these well-designed datasets by developing a novel computational systems biology method, i.e., dynamic cross-tissue (DCT) network analysis. We used one of the candidate genes, OsSPL4, whose function was previously unknown, for gene editing experimental validation of the high yield, and confirmed that OsSPL4 significantly affects panicle branching and increases the rice yield. This study, which included extensive field phenotyping, cross-tissue systems biology analyses, and functional validation, uncovered the key genes and gene regulatory networks underpinning the ultrahigh yield of rice. The DCT method could be applied to other plant or animal systems if different phenotypes under various environments with the common genome sequences of the examined sample. DCT can be downloaded from https://github.com/ztpub/DCT.

Variation of the Impact Aroma Compound, 2-Acetyl-1-Pyrroline, Content in Thai Fragrant Rice Plants and its Enhanced Accumulation by Soil Nutritional Elements

This study investigated the accumulation characteristics of 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2AP) in the Thai Jasmine rice cultivar, Khao Dawk Mali 105 (KDML 105) under different soil types and addition of soil nutritional elements. There was significant variation in the 2AP contents of rice leaves, not only among different growth stages, but also among different leaf positions at each growth stage. The highest 2AP content was seen in the third leaves at booting stage (25.10&amp;plusmn;0.90 &amp;micro;g g-1), whilst for flag leaves it was seen at mature grain stage (8.00&amp;plusmn;0.72 &amp;micro;g g-1). During the ripening stage, plants in sandy soil acquired higher 2AP content in flag leaves, spikelets, and seeds than in clay soil, with the highest 2AP content in flag leaves at 25.00&amp;plusmn;0.70 &amp;micro;g g-1. The accumulation of 2AP in basal, middle, and upper branches of panicles showed no significant differences, whereas a steady decrease in 2AP content was detected in the panicle axis and branches. The effects of individual mineral elements (B, Cr, Cu, Mg, Mn, and Se) on 2AP content was different at each growth stage. B enhanced the 2AP content by more than two-fold in the leaves at the heading stage (63.84&amp;plusmn;4.56 &amp;micro;g g-1) compared to that of the control set, followed by Mn, Cu, and Se. Similar to the above results, the 2AP content was also heightened in grains. The extended knowledge gathered in this study will assist farmers who wish to improve the fragrance qualities of their rice varieties.

Interaksi Genotipe × Musim Karakter Percabangan Malai Tiga Genotipe Padi Sawah

Percabangan malai merupakan salah satu kunci penentu hasil padi, namun keragaannya antar musim belum banyak dipelajari hingga saat ini. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendapatkan informasi tentang interaksi genotipe × musim karakter percabangan malai padi. Percobaan dilaksanakan dari bulan April 2017 sampai dengan Maret 2018, di Kebun Percobaan IPB Babakan, Dramaga, Bogor. Lima belas genotipe padi sawah sebagai perlakuan ditanam pada musim kemarau dan musim hujan untuk mempelajari interaksi genotipe × musim. Percobaan ditata dalam rancangan acak kelompok lengkap dengan empat ulangan. Analisis yang dilakukan adalah analisis ragam per musim dan analisis ragam gabungan antar musim. Hasil percobaan menunjukkan bahwa genotipe, musim, dan interaksi genotipe × musim berpengaruh nyata pada karakter panjang malai, jumlah cabang primer, panjang cabang primer, dan panjang cabang sekunder. Informasi yang diperoleh dari hasil penelitian ini dapat bermanfaat bagi pemulia padi dalam melakukan seleksi pada karakter percabangan malai.&#x0D; Kata kunci: genotipe × musim, musim kemarau, musim hujan, pemuliaan padi

OsmiR530 acts downstream of OsPIL15 to regulate grain yield in rice.

Summary MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small noncoding RNAs that play important roles in plant growth and development as well as in stress responses. However, little is known about their regulatory functions affecting rice grain yield.We functionally characterized a novel miRNA in rice, OsmiR530, its target OsPL3, and its upstream regulator phytochrome‐interacting factor‐like 15 (OsPIL15). Their effects on rice yield were dissected comprehensively.We determined that OsmiR530 negatively regulates grain yield. Blocking OsmiR530 increases grain yield, whereas OsmiR530 overexpression significantly decreases grain size and panicle branching, leading to yield loss. Additionally, OsPL3, which encodes a PLUS3 domain‐containing protein, is targeted directly by OsmiR530. Knocking out OsPL3 decreases the grain yield. In‐depth analyses indicated that OsPIL15 activates OsMIR530 expression by directly binding to the G‐box elements in the promoter. Analyses of genetic variations suggested that the OsMIR530 locus has likely been subjected to artificial selection during rice breeding.The results presented herein reveal a novel OsPIL15–OsmiR530 module controlling rice grain yield, thus providing researchers with a new target for the breeding of high‐yielding rice.