Evaluation of yield performance in rice near-isogenic lines with increased spikelet number

Rice yield potential is determined by the balance between sink size and source capacity. To clarify the factors that limit yield in temperate japonica cultivars, we compared the yield performance of Sasanishiki, a temperate japonica cultivar, with those of three near-isogenic lines (NILs) of Sasanishiki with introgression of quantitative trait loci (QTL) derived from a high-yielding indica cultivar, Habataki: qSBN1, which increases the number of secondary rachis branches; qPBN6, which increases the number of primary rachis branches; and a pyramid line that combines these two QTLs. NIL (SBN1), NIL (PBN6), and NIL (SBN1+. PBN6) produced 28-37%, 9-16%, and 62-65% more spikelets per panicle than Sasanishiki, respectively. However, the NILs with increased spikelet number per panicle did not increase grain yield significantly, because compensation is taken place among different yield components. The pyramid line nevertheless had 4-12% higher yield than Sasanishiki due to greater translocation of carbohydrates from stem to panicle. There was no difference in carbohydrate accumulation before heading or in biomass production among Sasanishiki and the three NILs. The results indicate that increasing sink size does not substantially improve yield in Sasanishiki, which lacks sufficient substrate supply to fully satisfy the increased sink demand that results from the spikelet-number QTLs.