Hyun-Su Park, Man-Kee Baek, Chang-Min Lee, Jeonghwan Seo, Songhee Park, Kyeong Min Kang, Jae-Ryoung Park, Mina Jin, O-Young Jeong, Ji-Ung Jeung, Ki-Young Kim
Korean. J. Breed. Sci. 2023;55(4):389-399. Published online December 1, 2023
The rice cultivar ‘Namchan’ was developed to achieve high yields under low-nitrogen fertilizer conditions and enhance cultivation stability. ‘Namchan’ was derived from a cross between ‘Nikomaru’, a Japanese rice cultivar known for its excellent ripening ability in high-temperature conditions, and ‘Saenuri’, a Korean mega rice cultivar renowned for its high cultivation stability. To shorten the breeding period, anther culture was applied to F1 plants. ‘Namchan’ was selected through the pedigree method, yield trials, and local adaptability tests, with high selection pressure for ripening ability and cultivation stability. The heading date of ‘Namchan’ was August 16, four days later than that of ‘Nampyeong’. ‘Namchan’ exhibited strong tolerance to lodging and preharvest sprouting, indicating high cultivation stability. Despite having more grains and panicles compared to that in ‘Nampyeong’, ‘Namchan’ exhibited excellent ripening ability, presumed to be inherited from ‘Nikomaru’. ‘Namchan’ showed intermediate resistance to rice blast and resistance to bacterial blight and rice stripe virus. ‘Namchan’ had excellent grain appearance, improved milling performance, and superior taste compared to ‘Nampyeong’. ‘Namchan’ exhibited a yield of 6.34 MT/ha under normal nitrogen fertilizer conditions, and its index at 115%, when compared to that of ‘Nampyeong’, is the highest among Korean japonica rice varieties. It exhibited a high yield of 5.45 MT/ha even under low-nitrogen fertilizer conditions. ‘Namchan’ is promising as an outstanding cultivar that can contribute to carbon neutrality through the reduction of nitrogen fertilizers and greenhouse gases (Registration No. 8134).