Drought tolerance (DT) and drought avoidance (DA) are two major mechanisms in drought resistance of higher plants. In this study, the genetic bases of DTand DA at reproductive stage in rice were analyzed using a recombinant inbred line population from a cross between an indica lowland and a tropical japonica upland cultivar. The plants were grown individually in PVC pipes and two cycles of drought stress were applied to individual plants with unstressed plants as the control. A total of 21 traits measuring fitness, yield, and the root system were investigated. Little correlation of relative yield traits with potential yield, plant size, and root traits was detected, suggesting that DTand DA were well separated in the experiment. A genetic linkage map consisting of 245 SSR markers was constructed for mapping QTL for these traits. A total of 27 QTL were resolved for 7 traits of relative performance of fitness and yield, 36 QTL for 5 root traits under control, and 38 for 7 root traits under drought stress conditions, suggesting the complexity of the genetic bases of both DT and DA. Only a small portion of QTL for fitness-and yield-related traits overlapped with QTL for root traits, indicating that DT and DA had distinct genetic bases.

To understand the underlying mechanism for plasticity in root to shoot ratio (R/S) in response to drought stress, two rice cultivars, Zhenshan97 (drought susceptible) and IRAT109 (drought resistant), were grown hydroponically, and R/S, carbohydrate concentration and partitioning, and activities of enzymes for sucrose conversion in seedlings exposed to drought stress condition (DS) imposed by polyethylene glycol 6000 were investigated. The R/S significantly increased under DS in comparison with that under well-watered condition. The proportion of dry matter and soluble sugar of roots markedly increased under DS. The R/S was negatively correlated with proportion of soluble sugar in stems, and positively with the proportions of soluble sugar and starch in roots. Drought stress condition significantly increased leaf sucrose-phosphate synthase (EC 2.4.1.14) activity and root acid and neutral/ alkaline invertase (EC 3.2.1.26) activity. The R/S was positively correlated with leaf sucrose-phosphate synthase and root acid invertase activity, and negatively with leaf sucrose synthase activity in the cleavage direction. Our results indicate that the increase in R/S in response to DS is closely associated with the higher proportion of dry matter and soluble sugar in roots, and this occurs via an increase in leaf sucrose-phosphate synthase and root invertase activity, and thus more sucrose is available for transport from leaves to roots.

Excessive nitrogen (N) application to rice (Oryza sativa L.) crop in China causes environmental pollution, increases the cost of rice farming, reduces grain yield and contributes to global warming. Scientists from the International Rice Research Institute have collaborated with partners in China to improve rice N fertilization through site-specific N management (SSNM) in China since 1997. Field experiments and demonstration trials were conducted initially in Zhejiang province and gradually expanded to Guangdong, Hunan, Jiangsu, Hubei and Heilongjiang provinces. On average, SSNM reduced N fertilizer by 32% and increased grain yield by 5% compared with farmers' N practices. The yield increase was associated with the reduction in insect and disease damage and improved lodging resistance of rice crop under the optimal N inputs. The main reason for poor fertilizer N use efficiency of rice crop in China is that most rice farmers apply too much N fertilizer, especially at the early vegetative stage. We observed about 50% higher indigenous N supply capacity in irrigated rice fields in China than in other major rice-growing countries. Furthermore, yield response of rice crop to N fertilizer application is low in China, around 1.5 t ha −1 on average. However, these factors were not considered by rice researchers and extension technicians in determining the N fertilizer rate for recommendation to rice farmers in China. After a decade of research on SSNM in China and other Asian rice-growing countries, we believe SSNM is a matured technology for improving both fertilizer N use efficiency and grain yield of rice crop. Our challenges are to further simplify the procedure of SSNM and to convince policy-makers of the effectiveness of this technology in order to facilitate a wider adoption of SSNM among rice farmers in China.

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SUMMARYThe predicted 2–4°C increment in temperature by the end of the 21st Century poses a threat to rice production. The impact of high temperatures at night is more devastating than day-time or mean daily temperatures. Booting and flowering are the stages most sensitive to high temperature, which may sometimes lead to complete sterility. Humidity also plays a vital role in increasing the spikelet sterility at increased temperature. Significant variation exists among rice germplasms in response to temperature stress. Flowering at cooler times of day, more pollen viability, larger anthers, longer basal dehiscence and presence of long basal pores are some of the phenotypic markers for high-temperature tolerance. Protection of structural proteins, enzymes and membranes and expression of heat shock proteins (HSPs) are some of the biochemical processes that can impart thermo-tolerance. All these traits should be actively exploited in future breeding programmes for developing heat-resistant cultivars. Replacement of heat-sensitive cultivars with heat-tolerant ones, adjustment of sowing time, choice of varieties with a growth duration allowing avoidance of peak stress periods, and exogenous application of plant hormones are some of the adaptive measures that will help in the mitigation of forecast yield reduction due to global warming.