Progress and Yield Bottleneck of Aerobic Rice in the North China Plain: A Case Study of Varieties Handao 297 and Handao 502

Aerobic rice has been considered a promising rice cultivation system as water scarcity is increasing in the world. This article summarizes the advances in aerobic rice management researches in the North China Plain, focusing on yield formation and its bottleneck. High-yielding and good-quality aerobic rice varieties adapted to aerobic soil conditions have been released officially and adopted by farmers in North China. The varieties Handao 502 and Handao 297 have been recognized as the most promising varieties reaching a yield level ranging 3.5-5.0t ha-1 with 450-650mm water input. Compared with lowland rice, water input in aerobic rice was more than 50% lower, and water productivity was 60% higher. Researches on responses of rice cultivars to nitrate nitrogen (N) and ammonium N supplied at early growth stages provided the first evidence for a preference of aerobic rice HD 297 for nitrate N supply, compared with the lowland rice variety. Zinc uptake studies demonstrated that introduction of aerobic rice system on calcareous soils may increase zinc deficiency problems. Sink size was identified as the limitation of aerobic rice yield, because its spikelet number m-2 was too low (20000-24000) compared with the lowland rice. For future research, more attention is suggested to be paid to yield formation focusing on effects of water regimes on tiller dynamics. Understanding of nutrient uptake and response to fertilization effects are also urgently required to establish optimized crop management technology. Additionally, alternative cropping systems based on aerobic rice should be established, and key sustainability and environmental impact issues in the systems need to be identified.