Abstract: Abstract: Improved plant type and lodging resistance are crucial for rice to cope with extreme weather and realize stable-high grain yield. Mechanization, which could be beneficial to promote high yield and high efficiency of grain production, is the developing orientation of rice cultivation. Mechanized planting is the key project for the rice production through mechanization and has obvious effects on rice growth and yield. Thus understanding the differences in plant type and lodging resistance of rice plants among different mechanized planting methods under high-yield cultivation mode is of great importance to reduce the risk of rice lodging, as well as realize high grain yield under mechanical conditions in a rice-wheat rotation system in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China. The experiment systematically studied the effect of pothole seedling mechanical transplanting (PT), carpet seedling mechanical transplanting (CT), and mechanical direct seeding (DS) on leaf shape, leaf posture, panicle traits, stalk feature, and lodging resistance of 6 rice cultivars, which were japonica-indica hybrid rice (Yongyou 2640 and Yongyou 1640), japonica conventional rice (Nanjing 9108 and Wuyunjing 27), and indica hybrid rice (Xinliangyou 6380 and IIyou 084), aiming to investigate the response of plant type and lodging resistance of different types of rice to mechanized planting methods in 2014-2015. Results showed that the grain yield was the largest under the PT and the smallest under the DS (P<0.05). Compared to DS, the PT mode increased the grain yield by 14.2%-25.6%, and the CT mode raised the grain yield by 10.5%-16.3%. Differences in leaf shape and leaf posture of rice were observed among planting methods, and the top three leaves of rice plants under the PT had longer leaf length, bigger specific leaf weight, and smaller leaf basic angle and drooping angle than those under the CT and the DS (P<0.05). Compared to CT and DS, the LAI (leaf area index), ratio of leaf area from flag leaf to 3rd leaf, panicle size, and grain-leaf radio of rice plants under the PT were bigger, and meanwhile the chlorophyll content and net photosynthetic rate in flag leaf increased (P<0.05), which would be conducive to the photosynthetic production during grain filling phase. The rice plants were higher under the PT than the CT and DS, and had longer stalk height, panicle length, and neck internode length, but shorter length of basal internodes (P<0.05). The 1st, 2nd and 3rd basal internodes of rice plants under the PT significantly increased the breaking resistance and bending moment, but significantly reduced the lodging index, which benefited from their bigger culm diameter, thicker culm wall, larger biomass accumulation and larger dry weight of unit internode, as compared with those under the CT and DS (P<0.05). Then the conclusion is drawn that the PT method can improve rice plant type, optimize the rice population, and increase the rice lodging resistance during grain filling phase, indicating that the PT method will be an alternative approach to increase the grain yield and reduce lodging in a rice-wheat rotation system in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China.