Design principles and parameters of rice ideal panicle type

On the basis of many years of research at the laboratory, and by making reference to the related literature published at home and abroad, in this paper the concept of rice ideal panicle type was introduced, and the principles of rice ideal panicle type design were elucidated. The parameters of rice ideal panicle type for Liaoning were preliminarily established as follows: Panicle length <17 cm, neck-panicle curvature <40°, neck panicle length 3–4 cm, neck diameter >2 mm, large vascular bundle and primary branch >15 pieces/panicle, primary branch grain >80 grains/panicle, secondary branch grains concentrating in the middle and upper parts of panicle axis, and panicle type index >0.5. In addition, the possibility of achieving unity of grain yield and quality at a still higher level by creating an ideal panicle type was explored.