Variations in rice yield and quality during the early and late seasons under the HLREP-CC model across different ecological zones.

BACKGROUND: Stabilizing grain production in double-cropping rice areas depends largely on early rice; however, its production is often considered a reserve due to high-temperature stress during the grain filling stage, leading to poor quality and low market acceptance. High-quality late rice early planting-continuous cropping (HLREP-CC) model was proposed to improve grain quality in early-season rice under limited high-quality early rice varieties. Two high-quality late indica rice varieties were selected as test materials to explore the superiority of the HLREP-CC model. Meanwhile, we compared the differences in rice yield and quality between the early and late seasons across three ecological planting areas in China: central Jiangxi (C-Jx), south-central Jiangxi (SC-Jx), and southern Jiangxi (S-Jx).

RESULTS: The HLREP-CC model significantly increased yield cooking and eating quality in the early season; although processing and appearance quality decreased in the early-season rice, it is recommended to select varieties with an environmentally quality-insensitive variety. As latitude decreased, rice processing and appearance, and nutritional quality enhanced; the cooking and eating quality depended on the rice variety.

CONCLUSION: There are significant differences in the performance of this model among different ecological zones. The SC-Jx had the highest yield and best comprehensive performance, as it can balance yield and maintain good rice quality, making it the ideal core promotion area. The S-Jx region exhibited superior processing and appearance quality but slightly lower yield, requiring careful variety selection. The C-Jx showed limited potential due to significantly lower early-season yield and quality. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.