Recent physiological, genetic, and management perspectives on lodging resistance in rice

Developing climate-resilient, lodging-resistant rice requires integrating strong culm and root related genetics, high-throughput and trait-based phenotyping, and optimized agronomic practices. Coordinated use of molecular breeding, gene editing, and management strategies offers sustainable solutions to mitigate lodging under variable environments. Lodging is a major abiotic stress that significantly reduces grain yield and quality in rice, while also increasing vulnerability to pests. Human-induced intensification, including high planting densities, excessive nitrogen application, off-season sowing, and cultivation in upland areas, further increases rice susceptibility to lodging, posing a major management challenge. Sole reliance on the sd1 gene has proven insufficient for ensuring effective lodging resistance. This review examines the diverse factors influencing lodging susceptibility and resistance in rice, including morphological, physiological, biochemical, genetic, agronomic, and environmental aspects, and integrates current advances to guide future research and breeding strategies for lodging-resistant rice. Among these factors, the stem has emerged as a key tissue influencing lodging resistance. Advances in molecular breeding have identified several QTLs and genes, such as SCM1, SCM2, SCM3, SCM4, APO1, and prl4, that are associated with lodging resistance, enabling the use of marker-assisted selection in breeding programs. The review also discusses integrated strategies that combine advanced phenotyping tools, optimized agronomic practices, mathematical modelling, and genetic approaches including molecular breeding and gene editing to effectively develop lodging-resistant rice varieties.