The Korean Journal of Crop ScienceISSN:0252-9777(Print) 2287-8432(Online)한국작물학회

A field test and a phytotron study were performed over two years to examine whether rice varieties originated from higher altitude areas have lower optimum grain filling temperatures for yield improvement than the varieties from South Korea. Three varieties originated from North Korea and three varieties from northern China were compared to the same number of varieties from South Korea. In a field study, the optimum grain filling temperatures over 40 days after heading were 22.6 – 23.0°C, 21.5 – 22.3°C, and 21.5 – 23.6°C for the varieties from North Korea, northern China, and South Korea, respectively, resulting in no significant difference among varietal groups. Meanwhile, the heading dates of the early maturing varieties from North Korea and China were 7 - 12 days earlier than that of the early maturing Odae variety from South Korea during the first transplant of 2017. The phytotron study, in which different temperature regimes were imposed from flowering/fertilization to harvest with constant daily mean temperatures, revealed that milled rice weight did not decrease under low temperatures, even at 16°C, compared to that at 22°C. At the fourth transplant in the field study, mean temperature lower than 10°C appeared before rice grains were fully developed, resulting in yield reductions. It was concluded that rice varieties adaptable to high-altitude areas do not have lower optimum grain filling temperatures but, instead, possess shorter growth durations. It was further suggested that the optimum grain filling temperature of rice observed under natural conditions could be attributed to the lowering temperature at the late filling stage under temperate climatic conditions.