Ratoon rice with direct seeding improves soil carbon sequestration in rice fields and increases grain quality

Increasing both carbon (C) sequestration and food production is essential for a sustainable future. However, increasing soil C sequestration or graining yield/quality in rice (Oryza sativa L.) systems has been a tradeoff in that pursuing one goal may compromise the other goal. Field experiments were designed to evaluate methane emission and grain yield in two rice systems in southern China, including the traditional double rice with a seedling transplanting system and innovative ratoon rice with a direct seeding system. Grain yield, grain quality, methane (CH₄) emission, and total organic carbon (TOC) loss rate were investigated, and yield-scaled CH₄ gas emission was assessed. It is found that double rice has a higher grain yield than ratoon rice. However, the grain quality (processing, appearance of chalkiness degree and chalky grain percentage, and nutritional quality) of ratoon rice is superior to double rice, especially the ratoon crop. The yield-scaled CH₄ emission of ratoon rice (0.06 kg kg^-1) decreased by 49.29% than double rice (0.12 kg kg^-1) throughout the growth period. Compared with the TOC loss rate of double rice (2.95 g kg^-1), the rate of ratoon rice was lower (1.97 g kg^-1). As a result, ratoon rice with direct seeding can not only improve grain quality but also mitigate yield-scaled CH₄ gas emission and TOC loss rate of rice fields. Therefore, we suggest to use ratoon rice with a direct seeding technique to promote agricultural C sequestration.