Quantitative trait loci associated with functional stay-green SNU-SG1 in rice.

During monocarpic senescence in higher plants, functional stay-green delays leaf yellowing, maintaining photosynthetic competence, whereas nonfunctional stay-green retains leaf greenness without sustaining photosynthetic activity. Thus, functional stay-green is considered a beneficial trait that can increase grain yield in cereal crops. A stay-green japonica rice 'SNU-SG1' had a good seed-setting rate and grain yield, indicating the presence of a functional stay-green genotype.