Agronomic performance of an IR64 introgression line with large leaves derived from New Plant Type rice in aerobic culture

•We evaluated the yield of an IR64 introgression line derived from New Plant Type rice.•YTH323 had yield similar to IR64, but higher than the New Plant Type rice in flooded culture.•YTH323, with reduced tillering, had 81% higher yield than IR64 on slightly dry soil.•Reduced tillering and enlarged leaves produced a larger canopy in aerobic culture.

Aerobic culture is a promising water-saving technology in irrigated rice ecosystems, but the vulnerability of plants to fluctuations in soil moisture constrains leaf expansion and yield. The objective of this study was to examine whether an aboveground architecture with large leaves and reduced tillering is associated with vigorous leaf growth in aerobic rice culture. In a series of field experiments, we evaluated the agronomic performance of an IR64 introgression line, YTH323 (IR84640-11-27-1-9-3-2-4-2-2-2-B), with fewer tillers and larger leaves than IR64, derived from New Plant Type rice, under various water and nitrogen conditions. In flooded culture, YTH323 yielded the same as IR64 and 38% more than IR65564-44-51 (a New Plant Type rice) (9.0 vs. 6.6 t ha−1). In aerobic culture, in contrast, it yielded 81% more than IR64 in slightly dry soils (5.1 vs. 2.8 t ha−1). YTH323 had a higher leaf area index than IR64 and IR65564-44-51 under slightly dry soil conditions and under a range of nitrogen conditions. The higher and more stable yield of YTH323 in aerobic culture was attributable to greater early vigor, high specific leaf area, a high ratio of leaf weight to total biomass, and larger leaves, along with the characteristics of high-yield cultivars such as high responsiveness to fertilizers and good grain filling. We conclude that genetic modification of the aboveground architecture of IR64, a typical tropical lowland rice cultivar, to reduce tiller and leaf number improves adaptation to aerobic culture.