Unravelling the biochemical traits of traditional rice landraces of Kerala

Biochemical characterisatics of 70 traditional landraces of rice (Oryza sativa L.) of Kerala including various micronutrients, rice bran oil and oryzanol content were analyzed. Traditional varieties have demonstrated their potential as valuable reservoirs of nutrients, indicating their suitability for incorporation into future breeding programmes aimed to develop nutritionally enriched rice varieties. Among the genotypes studied Oorkayama and Thekkan were identified with highest rice bran oil content and γ oryzanol content respectively. Fe, Zn, Na, K, carotene and anthocyanin content showed a wide range of variation among the genotypes. The GCV estimates were high for rice bran oil content and oryzanol content indicating higher magnitude of variability due to genotypes for these characters. The investigation suggests preponderance of additive gene effects for all the biochemical constituents under study as indicated by the high heritability coupled with high genetic advance.