Effects of Plant Spacing and Seedling Number per Hill Configurations on Panicle Traits,Yield and Quality of Japonica Rice

LIU Qiuyuan; GONG Jingyang; WEI Yunfei; LI Meng; JI Xin; LIU Juan; FENG Fan; WANG Fujuan; LEI Zhenshan; SONG Xiaohua

doi:10.15933/j.cnki.1004-3268.2025.07.003

Abstract：The effects of different plant spacing(10,15,20 cm)and seedling number per hill(2,4,6 seedlings/hill)configurations on tiller dynamics,panicle traits,yield and grain quality of japonica rice were studied.A comprehensive evaluation was conducted to determine the optimal treatment using the TOPSIS method,so as to provide support for synergistic improvement of yield and quality in southern Henan Province.The results showed that the tiller number per hill and population tiller number increased with the increase of seedling number per hill;The tiller number per hill increased with the increase of plant spacing,but population tiller number decreased.The panicle length,primary branch number,secondary branch number and grain number of secondary branch increased with the decrease of seedling number per hill or increase of plant spacing.A opening-downward quadratic parabolic relationship was observed between basic seedling number and yield.The T8 treatment(plant spacing of 15 cm with 6 seedlings/hill)had the highest yield(9.68 t/ha),followed by T4 treatment(plant spacing of 10 cm with 4 seedlings/hill),there was no significant difference between these two treatments.High yield was attributed to elevated effective panicle number and grain number per panicle.The plant spacing,seedling number per hill and their interaction significantly affected grain quality.With the increase of seedling number per hill,milling and appearance quality tended to deteriorate,but taste value generally enhanced;With the increase of plant spacing,processing and appearance quality improved,but taste value generally decreased.TOPSIS analysis identified T8 treatment as the optimal treatment,followed by T4 treatment.Overall,either plant spacing of 15 cm with 6 seedlings/hill or plant spacing of 10 cm with 4 seedlings/hill can achieve high yield and quality for japonica rice in southern Henan Province.