| This study is to investigate the strategies for high rainfall use efficiency of ratoon rice in seasonal drought
areas of southern China. Crop evapotranspiration(ETc) was calculated by means of the Penman-Monteith equation us-ing meteorological and crop data from 69 counties of five provinces (Sichuan， Hubei, Jiangxi ，Chongqing and Guangxi). According to the spatial and temporal distribution and its congruence between rainfall and ETc， strategies for rainfall
management of different areas are outlined as follows: (1) In most counties of Sichuan and Chongqing, amount of rainfall match to that of ETc during rice growing season. Drying paddy field in sunshine at early stage and alternate drying and wetting at middle and late stage are suggested as the rainfall management practices for these areas; (2) Most counties， except three in Hubei，are not suitable for ratoon rice production; And (3) Guanqxi and Jiangxi are similar in rainfall temporal distribution, with the majority of rainfall occurring in the early rice growing season. Therefore， drying paddy field in sunshine at early stage is strongly recommended, while altermate drying and wetting at middle and late stage are not suitable for these areas. At the end of this paper，the importance of high rainfall use efficiency for reducing methane emission in ratoon rice field is highlighted according to our experiences of field experiments. |