title: Potential Yield Increase of Hybrid Rice at Five Locations in Southern China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A number of field studies have demonstrated that the yield potential of hybrid rice cultivars is higher than that of inbred cultivars, although the magnitude of difference between hybrid and inbred cultivars at different yield levels has not been described. The objective of this study is to compare the yield increase potential at different yield levels between hybrid and conventional rice. Ten field experiments were conducted at five locations in southern China in 2012 and 2013. At each location, two hybrid and two inbred cultivars were grown at three N levels: high (225 kg/hm(2)), moderate (161-191 kg/hm(2)) and the control, zero N (0 kg/hm(2)).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Hybrid rice yielded approximately 8 % more grain than did inbred cultivars in Huaiji, Binyang and Haikou; approximately 7 % more in Changsha; and approximately 19 % more in Xingyi. The high grain yields observed for hybrid rice cultivars were attributed to high grain weight and biomass accumulation at maturity. On average, rice yields were approximately 6.0-7.5 t ha(-1) (medium yield) in Huaiji, Binyang and Haikou; approximately 9.0 t ha(-1) in Changsha (high yield); and approximately 12.0 t ha(-1) (super high yield) in Xingyi. The yield gaps among Huaiji, Binyang and Haikou and Changsha were attributed to the differences in spikelets m(-2) and biomass production, whereas the yield gap between Changsha and Xingyi was caused by the differences in grain-filling percentage, grain weight and harvest index. The differences in biomass production among sites were primarily due to variation in crop growth rate induced by varied temperatures and accumulative solar radiation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The yield superiority of hybrid rice was relatively small in comparison with that of inbred cultivars at medium and high yield levels, but the difference was large at super high yield levels. Improving rice yields from medium to high should focus on spikelets m(-2) and biomass, whereas further improvement to super high level should emphasize on grain-filling percentage, grain weight and harvest index. Favorable environmental conditions are essential for high yields in hybrid rice.
authors.affiliation: Rice and Sorghum Research Institute, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Southwest Rice Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Deyang, 618000, China.|Southern Regional Collaborative Innovation Center for Grain and Oil Crops (CICGO), Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, China.|Luzhou Branch of National Rice Improvement Center, Luzhou, 646100, China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Southern Regional Collaborative Innovation Center for Grain and Oil Crops (CICGO), Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, China.
authors.forename: Xiaobing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Southern Regional Collaborative Innovation Center for Grain and Oil Crops (CICGO), Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, China. jxhuangmin@163.com.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Southern Regional Collaborative Innovation Center for Grain and Oil Crops (CICGO), Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, China.
authors.forename: Xuefeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Southern Regional Collaborative Innovation Center for Grain and Oil Crops (CICGO), Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, China.
authors.forename: Ruichun
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Southern Regional Collaborative Innovation Center for Grain and Oil Crops (CICGO), Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, China.
authors.forename: Jiana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Southern Regional Collaborative Innovation Center for Grain and Oil Crops (CICGO), Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, China.
authors.forename: Dandan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Southern Regional Collaborative Innovation Center for Grain and Oil Crops (CICGO), Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, China.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: Rice and Sorghum Research Institute, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Southwest Rice Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Deyang, 618000, China.|Luzhou Branch of National Rice Improvement Center, Luzhou, 646100, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.affiliation: Rice and Sorghum Research Institute, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Southwest Rice Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Deyang, 618000, China.|Luzhou Branch of National Rice Improvement Center, Luzhou, 646100, China.
authors.forename: Fuxian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Southern Regional Collaborative Innovation Center for Grain and Oil Crops (CICGO), Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, China.
authors.forename: Yingbin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zou
keywords: Grain yield; Hybrid rice; Inbred rice; Yield superiority