Introduction to the Characteristics and Traits of the Rice Variety Liaoyou 18

Liaoyou 18 (5216A x C418) is a high-yield, high-quality, multi-resistant, strongly heterotic hybrid japonica rice variety developed by the Rice Research Institute of Liaoning Province over 8 years using the three-line breeding method after artificial hybridization. It was approved by the Liaoning Provincial Crop Variety Approval Committee in 2001.

I. Characteristics and Traits

1. Seedling-stage traits: The seedlings are robust with strong rooting ability; the leaves are broad, thick and dark green; after transplanting, the seedlings revive quickly and grow and develop rapidly.

2. Adult-plant traits: Plant height is 115-120 cm; the top three leaves are erect and inwardly rolled; the stems are thick and elastic; the basal internodes are relatively short; tillering ability is fairly strong, with more than 20 tillers per hill under sparse planting.

3. Panicle and grain traits: Panicle length is 22 cm; the panicle type is loose and curved; the number of spikelets per panicle is 152.4; the number of filled grains per panicle is 115-132; the panicle-bearing rate is 78.5%; the seed-setting rate is 86.1%; the 1000-grain weight is about 27 g; both the glumes and the glume tips are yellow-white, with sparse short awns.

4. Milling-quality traits: The milling quality, appearance quality, nutritional quality and cooking quality are excellent, and the palatability is good. The brown rice rate is 82.86%, the head rice rate is 54.43%, the chalky grain rate is 25%, the chalkiness degree is 2.5%, the amylose content is 17.01%, and the gel consistency is 61.1 mm. All the above indicators have reached the national standards for high-quality rice.

5. Stress resistance: It has fairly strong drought resistance, lodging resistance, cold resistance and heat resistance, and is resistant to rice blast, moderately resistant to bacterial leaf blight and sheath blight, and is not infected by rice false smut. In addition, it saves water and fertilizer and tolerates barren soil.

6. Growth period: In the Shenyang area, it is sown in early April, transplanted in mid-May, heads in early August, and matures in late September, with a growth period of 160-165 days. It matures with green stalks still alive and is not prone to premature senescence.

II. Yield Performance

Since 1997, the results of many trials at multiple sites over consecutive years have shown that it has good high-yield performance and stable yield, with an average yield of 654.62 kg per 667 sq m (mu), an increase of 16.36% over the control variety. Many high-yield examples have emerged during larger-scale trial planting and demonstration. In 2000, a year of severe drought, Wafangdian City planted more than 200 hectares and obtained a good harvest with an average yield of 733.6 kg per 667 sq m, an increase of 15.7% over the locally main planted variety.

III. Key Cultivation Points

Before sowing, select good-quality seeds and dry them thoroughly in the sun, making sure that both the germination rate and the purity of the seeds reach above 98%. The sowing rate in the seedling field is 150 g per sq m. Adopt the cultivation method of "sparse in the field, dense in the hill"; the row spacing and hill spacing are 33.3 cm x 16.6 cm, and if the large-ridge double-row planting pattern is used, the row spacing and hill spacing are (40 + 26.6) cm x 16.6 cm. Transplant 3-4 seedlings per hill, with about 12,000 hills per 667 sq m.

IV. Suitable Regions

Liaoyou 18 has relatively strong stress resistance and wide adaptability. It is not only suitable for planting in the rice-growing areas of eastern Liaoning, southern Liaoning, western Liaoning and Shenyang, but can also be cultivated in North China, Northwest China, Southwest China, Central China and East China.