Nikisakae

They ran one extra generation through the winter

Saikai No.75 was crossed in 1955 at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Kyushu Agricultural Experiment Station, taking "Nakasengoku" as the mother and "Norin No.22" as the father; for the purpose of shortening the breeding period, the F1 was raised from that winter into the following spring at the station's Ibusuki testing site, and from the F2 onward, back at the Kyushu Agricultural Experiment Station (Chikugo), it was grown by late planting every year up to the F8 and by normal-season planting from the F9, applying line breeding.

For the purpose of shortening the breeding period, the F1 was raised from that winter into the following spring at the station's Ibusuki testing site.

Rice can be grown once a year; advancing a generation takes a year. But at Ibusuki, at the southern tip of Kagoshima, a generation can be run through the winter.

Make the F1 in the winter of the year you crossed, and you are a year ahead. They then kept the generations tight by late planting every year up to the F8.

They bought time by using warm land. Of all the breeding histories on this site, this is the only one that states "shortening the breeding period" as the purpose.

Even so, a 1955 cross stood at F12 in 1966. Eleven years.

For the second crop of two

From 1966 it is to be adopted as a recommended variety in Kagoshima Prefecture for the second crop of double cropping.

Double cropping means taking two rice harvests a year from the same field. Nikisakae was adopted to be the second of the two.

Expected area of spread: 2,000 ha

The "Niki" of the name is most likely 二期, "two crops" — though the document does not say so.

The description of where it suits is written in the same frame:

Against lodging it is fairly strong under late planting, since the culm does not extend much, but under normal-season planting it is somewhat weak because the culm grows too long.

Plant it late and it stands. Plant it at the normal time and it grows too tall and falls. The second crop of double cropping is planted late, and there it is strong.

It inherited its father's form

Under late planting it has a longer culm and longer panicles than Nakasengoku, a panicle-weight non-glutinous type resembling the habit of Norin No.22.

The father is Norin No.22, the same as Koshihikari's mother. That plant habit reaches as far as a double-cropping variety in Kyushu.

It is fairly strong against leaf blast, panicle blast, bacterial leaf blight and sheath blight alike; its disease resistance is well balanced.

"Its disease resistance is well balanced." Not one outstanding strength, but nothing that breaks.

The year-by-year verdicts survive, with their marks

The document carries the trial sites' assessments year by year, each with a mark.

△ 1962; maturity 1–3 days earlier than Akikogane, short-culmed with somewhat more panicles. (…) As this is the first year, we wish to re-examine. ◎ 1963; a line ripening 2–4 days earlier than Akikogane, somewhat long-culmed. Resistance is fair and disease was slight at every site.

The first year △ and "we wish to re-examine"; from the next year ◎. The judgement on the way to adoption survives, year by year.