TY  - JOUR
AU  - Li, Jinying
AU  - Zhang, Bianhong
AU  - Song, Jiahui
AU  - Li, Danyang
AU  - Chen, Mengying
AU  - Chen, Zhihan
AU  - Qin, Bin
AU  - Xu, Hailong
AU  - Zou, Jingnan
AU  - Weng, Peiying
AU  - Wang, Wenfei
AU  - Fang, Changxun
AU  - Chen, Hongfei
AU  - Zhang, Zhixing
AU  - Lin, Wenxiong
PY  - 2026
TI  - Stubble rolling primes axillary bud regeneration and increases grain yield in mechanically harvested ratoon rice in South China
JO  - The Crop Journal
SN  - 2095-5421
SP  - 1410
EP  - 1419
VL  - 14
IS  - 4
AB  - Rice ratooning produces a second harvest from the growth of axillary buds that remain on the stubble after the main crop is harvested. Stubble rolling after mechanical harvesting may regenerate roots and tillers. The objective of this study was to elucidate the relationships between axillary bud regeneration and yield formation in ratoon rice. The experimental approach was to measure yield and axillary bud regeneration traits under full-rolling and non-rolling treatments across three sites in Fujian Province, China over two years. Full-rolling increased grain yield by 7.59%–8.40% and the regeneration capacity of axillary buds by 9.45%–17.11%. Further analyses revealed that full-rolling increased the activities of carbon- and nitrogen-metabolizing enzymes in regenerating axillary buds, as well as the expression of genes involved in carbohydrate and nitrogen metabolic pathways. Mechanical harvesting combined with stubble rolling that presses rice stubble close to the soil surface induces a regenerative growth pattern that ultimately increases ratoon rice yield.
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cj.2026.03.022
DO  - 10.1016/j.cj.2026.03.022