Influence of source and sink on the production of high density grain and yield in rice

Green house studies conducted with Tulasi and Rasi indicated that leaf could determine the degree of plant's performance and control the level of filled grain in rice. Reduction in leaf area (source size) through defoliation of the top four leaves in varied combinations indicated the importance of first top two and the third leaves in the order, while monitoring the production of HD grains and grain yield. Removal of fourth leaf, however, exhibited an increase In HD grain, and thus showed least contribution. Defoliation along with shading of different plant parts (source) indicated that leaf is the major important organ deciding the nature of filled grain. Reduction in sink size (spikelet number) through varied degrees of panicle tailoring suggested the importance of top and middle portion of the panicle in contributing to higher spikelet filling and obviously the grain yield.