Change in Yield and Quality Characteristics of Rice by Drought Treatment Time during the Seedling Stage

Drought stress caused by global climate change is a serious problem for rice cultivation. Increasingly frequent abnormal weather occurrences could include severe drought, which could cause water stress to rice during the seedling stage. This experiment was conducted to clarify the effects of drought during the seedling period on yield and quality of rice. Drought conditions were created in a rain shelter house facility. The drought treatment was conducted at 3, 10, and 20 days after transplanting. Soil water content was measured by a soil moisture sensor during the whole growth stage. In this study, we have chosen 3 rice cultivars which are widely cultivated in Korea: ‘Haedamssal’ (Early maturing), ‘Samkwang’ (Medium maturing), and ‘Saenuri’ (Mid-late maturing). The decrease in yield due to drought treatment was most severe 3 days after transplanting because of the decrease in the number of effective tillers. The decrease in grain quality due to drought treatment was also most severe 3 days after transplanting because of the increased protein content and hardness of the grains. The cultivar ‘Haedamssal’ was the most severely damaged by water stress, resulting in about a 30% yield loss. Drought conditions diminished the early vigorous growth period and days to heading in early-maturing cultivars. The results show that drought stress affects yield components immediately after transplanting, which is a decisive factor in reducing yield and grain quality. This study can be used as basic data to calculate damage compensation for drought damage on actual rice farms.