‘Saebonghwang’ was developed as a mid-late ripening rice variety with good cultivation stability and yield in transplanting and under direct seeding cultivation. It was bred by backcrossing ‘Hopum’, which has excellent cultivation stability and adaptability to direct seeding, as a repeat parent, and ‘Hitomebore,’ a Japanese rice variety with excellent taste, as a donor. The heading date of ‘Saebonghwang’ was August 11 under ordinary planting, which is two days earlier than that of ‘Nampyeong’, and August 13 under wet-direct seeding cultivation, which is the same as that of ‘Dongan’. ‘Saebonghwang’ had a culm length of 74 cm under wet-direct seeding cultivation, which is larger than that of ‘Dongan’ (69 cm), and had good cultivation stability, including lodging resistance. ‘Saebonghwang’ is resistant to bacterial leaf blight and rice stripe virus and shows moderate resistance to rice blast. Furthermore, ‘Saebonghwang’ has better grain appearance, superior taste and better milling characteristics than ‘Nampyeong’. The yield of ‘Saebonghwang’ when cultivated under ordinary planting, wet-direct seeding, and double cropping was 5.65, 5.37, and 5.37 MT/ha, respectively. Under wet direct sowing by drone cultivation, ‘Saebonghwang’ showed good initial survival rate and cultivation stability. The yield was 4.49 MT/ha, slightly lower than that obtained under transplanted cultivation (5.03 MT/ha), but was not statistically different; therefore, ‘Saebonghwang’ was adjudged to be adaptable to drone wet-direct seeding. ‘Saebonghwang’ can be used in various ways to suit the working conditions of farms, increase farm work efficiency, and expand the area of wet direct-seeding cultivation (Registration No. 9171).

This study was performed to determine the optimum transplanting dates of ‘Bbareumi’ in the Chungnam Plain area. ‘Bbareumi’ was transplanted into a rice research field of Chungnam Agricultural Research and Extension Services at intervals of approximately 15 days from April 17^th to August 1^st in 2019 and 2020. The heading dates of ‘Bbareumi’ were June 23^rd to September 2^nd depending on transplanting dates. The highest milled-rice yield was 5.61 MT/ha on May 1^st and the lowest was 3.65 MT/ha on August 1^st. As the transplanting date was delayed, protein content increased; however, the number of days from transplanting to heading decreased. Protein content and the number of days from transplanting to heading showed a highly significant correlation (R² = 0.802^**). Therefore, it was found that early transplanting was beneficial to produce lower protein content because head rice percentage was 84-87% for early (April 17^th to May 16^th), 74-80% normal (June 1^st to June 16^th), and 86-95% for the late transplanting date (July 1^st to August 1^st). The mean temperature during the ripening stage differed according to the transplanting dates, and early transplanting showed a lower temperature than the normal one (May 16^th to June 15^th) and a higher head rice percentage. Therefore, extremely early maturing rice cultivars should be transplanted between late April and early May to obtain lower protein content and higher head rice percentage. These results will be useful for rice breeding programs, as it is generally recognized that early transplanting results in poor rice quality; however, this study revealed contrasting results.

This study was conducted to reset the transplanting period to produce high-quality rice in the South regions due to the rise in air temperature caused by global warming. From May 15 to June 25, transplants were performed five times every ten days. Quantity and quality were comprehensively reviewed, including watering season, ripened grain rate, head rice rate, head rice yield, protein content, and palatability. In the southern plains, medium-late and medium maturing cultivars yielded the most when transplanted on June 15, while early maturing cultivars yielded the most when transplanted on June 25. Considering the quality and quantity of rice, the optimal transplanting window for medium-late maturing cultivars is June 10-15, for medium maturing cultivars it is June 15-20, and for early maturing cultivars it is June 25. In the middle of the southern region, the highest yield was on June 25 for medium-late maturing and June 15 for medium maturing and early maturing. However, considering the quality, the best time for transplanting is June 10 for medium-late maturing, June 5 for medium maturing, and June 15 for early maturing. As a result of the rise in average temperature, the transplantation period was delayed by at least 4 to 16 days in all varieties and regions relative to the traditional transplantation duration. In summary, it is determined that a suitable transplanting period must be established in response to the increase in average temperature to ensure the production of high-quality rice.