Yield and Lodging Resistance of 'Tachiayaka', a Novel Rice Cultivar with Short Panicles for Whole-Crop Silage

'Tachiayaka' is a novel cultivar of rice (Oryza sativa L.) with short panicles that is suitable for use in whole-crop silage. It was selected from bulked progeny obtained from two backcrosses of 'Hoshiaoba' to F-1 plants of 'Chugoku 146' ('Hoshiaoba') x 'Gokutansui (00kosen11)'. The unhulled rice yield of 'Tachiayaka' was comparable to that of 'Tachisuzuka', a short-panicle cultivar with high digestibility in cattle, in multi-location trials over a wide area spanning the Hokuriku to Chugoku regions in Japan. The whole-crop yield and the maturity of 'Tachiayaka' were comparable to those of 'Hoshiaoba'. These findings indicated the suitability of 'Tachiayaka' for cultivation across a wide area of Japan. The characters associated with lodging resistance in 'Tachiayaka', including lodging index, were superior to those of 'Hoshiaoba'. The high lodging resistance of 'Tachiayaka' will enable its cultivation in regions where lodging occurs frequently.