Direct-seeding cultivation by deep-seeding of seeds (drill seeding) is becoming popular due to the scarcity of land and labor. However, poor emergence and inadequate seedling establishment can lead to yield loss in direct-seeding cultivation by deep-sowing. In rice, mesocotyl and coleoptile are primarily responsible for seedling emergence from deeper levels of soil. Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for mesocotyl and coleoptile length at 5-cm seeding depth were detected using 98 backcross inbred lines from a cross between Kasalath and Nipponbare. Three QTLs qMel-1, qMel-3, and qMel-6 for mesocotyl length were identified on chromosomes 1, 3, and 6, respectively, in two independent replicates. At two QTLs, qMel-1 and qMel-3, the Kasalath alleles increased mesocotyl length, whereas Nipponbare allele increased at qMel-6. The Nipponbare alleles at two QTLs (qCol-3 and qCol-5) increased the coleoptile length. Further, seeds of 54 chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs) from the cross between Kasalath and Nipponbare sown at 5 cm soil depth showed a significant positive correlation between seedling emergence and mesocotyl elongation (r > 0.6, P < 0.0001), but not with coleoptile elongation (r = 0.05, P = 0.7). Seedling emergence of Nipponbare, Kasalath, and the 3 of the 54 CSSLs rapidly decreased with increasing sowing depth. Seedling emergence at seeding depths of 7 and 10 cm was faster in Kasalath and CSSL-5 that harbored the Kasalath alleles across the qMel-1 and qMel-3 regions than in the other two CSSLs that contained a single QTL and Nipponbare alleles. CSSL-5 showed the longest mesocotyl among the 3 CSSLs, but no difference in coleoptile length was observed among the 3 CSSLs at seeding depths of 7 and 10 cm. Variation of mesocotyl elongation was found to be associated with seedling emergence at the seeding depth of 5 cm. To our knowledge, this is the first study performed using CSSLs to detect QTLs for mesocotyl or coleoptile elongation and to determine the effect of mesocotyl elongation on seedling emergence in rice. Our findings provides a foundation for developing rice cultivars that show higher seedling emergence after direct seeding by introgressing QTLs for mesocotyl elongation in rice breeding.

High grain yield is one of the most important traits requiring improvement in rice breeding programs. Consequently, the genetic basis of spikelets per panicle (SPP) and grain weight (TGW) have received much research focus because of their importance in rice yield. In this study, IL28, which is a near isogenic line (NIL) developed by introgressing chromosomal segments of the cultivar ‘Moroberekan’ into the cultivar ‘Ilpumbyeo’, showed a significant increase in the number of spikelets per panicle (SPP) and 1,000-grain weight (TGW) compared to the recurrent parent, Ilpumbyeo. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis in 243 F2 plants derived from a cross between IL28 and Ilpumbyeo indicated that both qSPP6 and qTGW6 are located in the interval RM3430–RM20580. Following substitution mapping with 50 F_3:4:5 lines, qSPP6 was mapped to a 429-kb interval between RM20521 and InDel-1, while qTGW6 was mapped to a 37.85-kb interval between InDel-1 and SNP--3 based on the japonica genome sequence. This result indicates that qSPP6 and qTGW6 are different genes. Yield trials with substitution lines indicated that lines harboring the homozygous Moroberekan segment at both the qSPP6 and qTGW6 region showed significantly higher grain yield than Ilpumbyeo. Because the Moroberekan alleles for SPP and TGW have been shown to be beneficial in the genetic background of Ilpumbyeo, both the qSPP6 and qTGW6 alleles might prove valuable in improving rice yields. Closely linked SSR markers are expected to facilitate the cloning of genes that underlie these QTLs, as well as with marker-assisted selection for variation in SPP and TGW in rice breeding programs.