Relationship between grain yield and quality in rice germplasms grown across different growing areas

Rice grain yield and quality are two major foci of rice breeding. In this study, Chinese regional rice test data provide us the unique opportunity to analyze the relationship between yield and quality in rice, because China has an unusually wide range of rice cultivars. We analyzed the relationships between grain yield, yield components, and grain quality of 300 rice germplasms. Japonica was superior in both yield and quality compared with indica. A high setting rate improved the head rice ratio. A higher 1000 grain weight was negatively correlated with quality characteristics but had a positive correlation with yield. A high spikelet density (number of grains per centimeter on the panicle) not only benefits the yield but also the head rice ratio and chalkiness traits. According to our results, global rice production can be increased to at least 8500 kg/ha to meet projected demands in 2025 without sacrificing grain quality.