Variations in rice yield and quality during the early and late seasons under the HLREP ‐ CC model across different ecological zones

BACKGROUND Stabilizing grain production in double‐cropping rice areas depends largely on early rice; however, its production is often considered a reserve due to high‐temperature stress during the grain filling stage, leading to poor quality and low market acceptance. High‐quality late rice early planting‐continuous cropping (HLREP‐CC) model was proposed to improve grain quality in early‐season rice under limited high‐quality early rice varieties. Two high‐quality late indica rice varieties were selected as test materials to explore the superiority of the HLREP‐CC model. Meanwhile, we compared the differences in rice yield and quality between the early and late seasons across three ecological planting areas in China: central Jiangxi (C‐Jx), south‐central Jiangxi (SC‐Jx), and southern Jiangxi (S‐Jx). RESULTS The HLREP‐CC model significantly increased yield cooking and eating quality in the early season; although processing and appearance quality decreased in the early‐season rice, it is recommended to select varieties with an environmentally quality‐insensitive variety. As latitude decreased, rice processing and appearance, and nutritional quality enhanced; the cooking and eating quality depended on the rice variety. CONCLUSION There are significant differences in the performance of this model among different ecological zones. The SC‐Jx had the highest yield and best comprehensive performance, as it can balance yield and maintain good rice quality, making it the ideal core promotion area. The S‐Jx region exhibited superior processing and appearance quality but slightly lower yield, requiring careful variety selection. The C‐Jx showed limited potential due to significantly lower early‐season yield and quality.