What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to enhance yield and resource use efficiency in rice-oilseed rape cropping systems in the Yangtze River Delta.

April 24, 2026Open Access

Characteristics of heat and solar resources allocation and utilization in rice- oilseed rape double cropping systems in the Yangtze River Delta

Key Points

The aim is to enhance yield and resource use efficiency in rice-oilseed rape cropping systems in the Yangtze River Delta.
Conducted a field experiment comparing innovated and traditional cropping systems.
Measured annual yield, resource distribution, economic benefits, and climatic resource utilization.
Evaluated growth performance and efficiency metrics over multiple years.
The new system improved accumulated temperature production efficiency by 24.1% and light energy production efficiency by 20.6%.
Annual economic benefits increased by 31.4%, with rape planting benefits rising 2.2 times.
Dry matter yield of rapeseed increased by 18.2%, while rice yields decreased by 17.6%.

Abstract

To improve annual yield and resource use efficiency in rice-oilseed rape systems in the Yangtze River Delta, a field experiment of two cropping systems, namely innovated system with late maturity medium season japonica rice-directly sowing oilseed rape (Rs-Ods) and traditional system with medium maturity late season japonica rice-furrow ridging and placed planting oilseed rape (Rl-Ofrpp), was conducted at Suzhou, Jiangsu, China, from 2017 to 2021. The annual dry matter yield, rice grain yield, distribution and utilization efficiency of heat and solar climatic resources as well as the economic benefit were compared between two cropping systems. The results showed that, compared with the conventional system, the new system significantly improved the accumulated temperature production efficiency by 24.1% and light energy production efficiency by 20.6% of the oilseed rape season, while there was no significant difference in rice season. In the new system, the dry matter yield of rapeseed was significantly increased by 18.2% whereas the rice grain and dry matter yield were significantly decreased by 17.6% and 15.5%, respectively. In the traditional system, with the rate of accumulated temperature between two seasons of 1.77, the accumulative temperature distribution rate was 63.9% in rice season and 36.1% in oilseed rape season, respectively. The annual accumulative temperature of the new system decreased by 588℃, among which the accumulated temperature of rice decreased by 483℃. The accumulative temperature distribution rate in oilseed rape season was increased by 1.8%, and the ratio of accumulated temperature between the two seasons decreased to 1.64. Compared to the traditional system, the new system increased the annual economic benefit by 31.4%, increased the rape planting benefit by 2.2 times and decreased the rice growing economic benefit by 17.4%. In conclusion, the new cropping system, late maturity medium season japonica rice-directly sowing oilseed rape forage, significantly improved the yield, accumulated temperature and radiation production efficiency, growing benefit of oilseed rape season as well as the annual economic benefit. Considering the food and forage security as well as economic benefit, the new rice-rapeseed cropping system can be used as one of the alternatives for the long-term monoculture of rice-wheat or rice-oilseed rape double cropping system.

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