Harnessing the Genetic Variability and Trait Association of Yield and Yield Related Traits in Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Abstract

The present investigation was conducted to examine the 17 bread rice genotypes including one check to study the genetic parameters, correlation and genetic diversity. The experiment was carried out in Research Farm Genetics & Plant Breeding of AKS University, Satna, M.P., during kharif season, 2021-22 in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications. Analysis of variance showed highly significant differences among 17 bread rice genotypes for 14 characters studied. The statistical analysis of variance showed significant differences among genotypes for all 14 traits, including days to 50% flowering, plant height, effective tillers per plant, flag leaf length, maturity, panicle length, kernel length and width, test weight, harvest index, biological yield per plant and grain yield per plant. The results showed that these genotypes of rice crops have short flowering period, tall plant height, many effective tillers per plant, long flag leaf, long panicle and high grain yield per plant. The coefficients of variation were low, indicating little variation within the genotypes for each trait. The study results suggest significant variations in the characteristics of different genotypes of rice crops and can be useful for crop improvement. The genotypic correlation coefficients were generally higher than the phenotypic ones. Traits related to reproductive growth, such as number of effective tillers per plant, number of seeds per panicle, and harvest index, had positive effects on grain yield per plant, while traits related to vegetative growth, such as days to 50% flowering and plant height, had negative effects. The path coefficient analysis indicated that biological yield per plant and harvest index had the maximum positive effect on grain yield per plant, while spikelet’s per spike, grain per spike, effective tiller per plant, days to maturity, and days to 50% flowering had the maximum negative effect. These findings provide valuable insights for rice crop improvement.