Detailed Introduction to the Fengdao No. 15 Rice Variety

Fengdao No. 15 is a new early-maturing japonica rice variety bred by the Dali Prefecture Agricultural Science Institute through crossbreeding, with 04-2865 as the female parent and the high-yielding variety Dianyul No. 1 as the male parent. Results from years of multi-site trials and demonstrations show that the standout characteristics of this variety are early maturity, strong cold tolerance, moderate resistance to rice blast and bacterial leaf blight, high and stable yield, and good quality. It is currently a new japonica rice variety with relatively outstanding comprehensive traits among the promoted varieties in the high-altitude areas of Yunnan Province. In July 2002, it passed the approval of the Yunnan Provincial Crop Variety Approval Committee, and it was determined to be promoted for planting in the cold cool rice areas of Yunnan Province at altitudes above 1950 m.

Characteristics and Traits:

1. Agronomic traits: Fengdao No. 15 has a plant height of 85-90 cm, thick and sturdy stems, tolerance to fertilizer and resistance to lodging, strong tillering ability, and the flag leaf tip rolls inward and stands upright, with a good plant and leaf type. The effective panicles per mu are 380,000-400,000, the panicle-setting rate is about 75%, the panicle length is 18-20 cm, the total grain number per panicle is 100-105, and the seed-setting rate is about 80%. The grains are short and round, the glumes are straw yellow, the grains are not easy to shatter, and the 1000-grain weight is 15-26 g.

2. Quality: According to the test results of the Yunnan Provincial Agricultural Product Quality Supervision Station in 1999, Fengdao No. 15 had a brown rice rate of 84.1%, a milled rice rate of 78.6%, a head rice rate of 65.4%, a length-to-width ratio of 1.74, a chalky rice rate of 4.00%, a chalkiness degree of 1.5%, an alkali spreading value of 6.4, a gel consistency of 88 mm, an amylose content of 16.62%, and a protein content of 6.67%. The white rice grains are glossy, and the eating quality is relatively good.

3. Resistance: According to the identification results of the Character Identification Group of the Japonica Rice Breeding Center of the Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences in 1998, Fengdao No. 15 showed grade 6 leaf blast and grade 2 panicle blast at the Kunming site, and grade 1 leaf blast and grade 6 panicle blast at the Yiliang site. In addition, based on analysis of natural resistance identification results from multiple years and sites, Fengdao No. 15 is moderately resistant to rice blast, bacterial leaf blight, rice false smut, and bakanae disease, and its comprehensive resistance is superior to the controls Fengdao No. 9 and He 16.

4. Cold tolerance: According to the identification results of the Character Identification Group of the Japonica Rice Breeding Center of the Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the cold tolerance of Fengdao No. 15 is RR, significantly superior to the control varieties such as Fengdao No. 9, He 16, and Yunjing No. 9.

5. Growth period: When planted in the rice areas of Yunnan Province at altitudes of 1950-2200 m, Fengdao No. 15 is generally sown from late March to early April, transplanted in May, reaches full heading in early August, and matures in mid-to-late September. The whole growth period is about 180 days, 4-8 days earlier than the control varieties such as Fengdao No. 9, He 16, and Yunjing No. 9. It is an early-maturing variety and can very easily avoid the low-temperature cold damage in August in high-altitude cold cool rice areas, ensuring high and stable yield.

6. Adaptability: Because Fengdao No. 15 has the outstanding characteristics of early maturity, strong cold tolerance, and relatively good disease resistance, it has good yield stability and broad regional adaptability, and is suitable for promotion and planting in the cold cool areas of Yunnan Province at altitudes of 1950-2200 m.

Yield performance: In the new variety comparative trials from 1997 to 1998, the average yields per mu at the two trial sites of the institute's experimental farm and Heqing Xinmin were 653.50 kg and 658.25 kg respectively, ranking first among the 14 tested varieties, and increasing yield by 17.38% and 16.71% respectively compared with the control variety He 16, reaching an extremely significant level. From 1999 to 2002, it participated in the rice improved variety regional trials in Dali Prefecture and north-central Yunnan. In the regional trial of north-central Dali Prefecture, the yield per mu was 627.39 kg, ranking first among the 11 tested varieties, and increasing yield by 19.46% compared with the control He 16, reaching an extremely significant level; in the regional trial of north-central Yunnan, the yield per mu was 550.49 kg, ranking third among the 13 tested varieties, and increasing yield by 25.34% compared with the control Yunjing No. 9, reaching an extremely significant level. From 1999 to 2000, trial planting and demonstrations were carried out in Dali, Lijiang, Zhaotong, Kunming, Qujing, and other places in Yunnan Province over 0.73 million hm2, with yields generally around 550 kg/mu. Especially under the harsh climatic conditions in July and August 2002, when the rainy period lasted more than 50 days, with prolonged overcast and rainy weather, insufficient sunlight, and frequent and intense low-temperature cold damage, the advantages of Fengdao No. 15's early maturity and strong cold tolerance were fully brought into play. In the high-altitude areas of Yunnan Province, the yield was generally around 450 kg/mu, increasing yield by nearly 30% compared with other promoted varieties.

Cultivation Points:

1. Strictly carry out seed treatment to prevent damage from seed-borne diseases such as bakanae disease: In order to effectively prevent damage from seed-borne diseases such as bakanae disease and improve the seed germination rate and germination vigor, strict seed treatment should be carried out before sowing. First remove all shriveled grains and impurities from the seeds, sun-dry the seeds for 1-2 days, then soak the seeds in 3000-fold diluted 25% ShibaoKe solution for 72 hours, remove them, and dry them before sowing.

2. Fertilizer-bed dry seedling raising to cultivate strong seedlings with tillers: On the basis of adhering to plastic-film dry seedling raising, emphasizing the selection and fertilization of seedbed land, and building high-standard fertilizer beds, special emphasis should be placed on precise sowing, sparse sowing, and uniform sowing, with the sowing rate per mu controlled at 30-40 kg. Temperature management during the seedling stage should be effectively strengthened, and it is advocated to ventilate and cool down as early as possible after emergence and to extend the hardening period, so as to cultivate disease-free strong seedlings with tillers at the appropriate age and lay a solid foundation for high and stable yield.

3. Timely early transplanting to avoid low-temperature cold damage in August and ensure high and stable yield: Low-temperature cold damage during the heading and flowering stage (that is, low-temperature cold damage in August) is the main obstacle factor to high and stable rice yield in high-altitude cold cool areas, and timely early transplanting is the most critical technical measure to ensure high and stable rice yield in this area. Therefore, in the high-yield and stable-yield cultivation of Fengdao No. 15, timely early transplanting must be emphasized, and the transplanting period should not be later than the end of May.

4. Reasonable dense planting and sufficient basic seedlings, striving for large panicles on the basis of more panicles to obtain high yield: Fengdao No. 15 has strong tillering ability and a good plant type, and is suitable for dense planting. When the number of panicles is insufficient, it is difficult to obtain high yield. Therefore, reasonable dense planting should be adhered to, with standardized line transplanting, 50,000-60,000 hills per mu, 1-3 seedlings per hill, and 110,000-150,000 basic seedlings, striving for 380,000-400,000 effective panicles per mu, and achieving high and stable yield by striving for large panicles on the basis of more panicles.

5. Apply sufficient base fertilizer, apply topdressing early, and apply appropriate phosphorus-potassium combined panicle fertilizer: In order to achieve the cultivation goal of striving for large panicles and high yield on the basis of more panicles, in terms of fertilization, under the premise of increasing organic fertilizer application, sufficient base fertilizer should be applied in the early stage to strive for more panicles, and in the later stage, phosphorus-potassium combined panicle fertilizer should be skillfully supplemented to strive for large panicles and increase grain weight. 80% of the nitrogen fertilizer and phosphorus fertilizer should be used as base fertilizer, and potassium fertilizer and 20% of the phosphorus fertilizer should be used as panicle fertilizer.

6. Scientific management and timely control of diseases, insects, weeds, and rodents: Field management centered on water management should be effectively strengthened, with two key links emphasized: shallow water to promote tillering and strive for more panicles, and draining the field when there are enough seedlings to strive for large panicles. At the same time, according to seedling conditions and disease and insect forecasts, timely control of diseases, insects, weeds, and rodents should be carried out.