Morphological characterization of F3 mapping population of rice for BPH resistance (Oryza sativa L.)

Abstract

The investigational material comprised of 34 F3 plant population along with two parents CG Zn Rice I and IR64 of rice which have been studied for morphological traits. Variability was recorded for 31 qualitative and 14 quantitative traits. All considered morphological and quality descriptors showed remarkable differences in their distribution and amount of variations within them. The magnitude of phenotypic coefficient of variation was found to be higher than the genotypic coefficient of variation for all the traits indicating the significant role of environmental factor. The high amount of genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variation with high genetic advance as percentage of mean was observed for leaf length, filled spikelets per panicle, unfilled spikelets per panicle and economic yield. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance as percentage of mean was observed for 100 seed weight, unfilled spikelets, seed length and seed width. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance indicated that most likely the heritability is due to additive gene effects and selection may be effective for these characters based on phenotypic values in order to obtain maximum genetic gain for yield improvement in rice by simple selection process.