Effect of System of Rice Intensification on Grain Plumpness in Association with Source-Sink Ratio in Mid-Season Hybrid Rice

Grain plumpness under two cultivation methods, the system of rice intensification(SRI) and traditional cultivation, was examined using 18 mid-season hybrid rice combinations. There existed a highly significant negative correlation between the differences of grain plumpness under the two cultivation methods and number of spikelets per panicle. The small- or middle-panicle type hybrid rice though they showed a significant decrease in leaf-grain ratio under SRI maintained normal grain filling due to plenty of source supply, while the large-panicle hybrid rice was on the contrary. It suggested that the number of spikelets per panicle below 173 under traditional cultivation, was an index for selecting variety in application of SRI in the southern region of Sichuan Province, China.