Phenotypic Assessment of Natural Diversity in Low-Land Rice Germplasm as Affected by Iron Toxicity

Abstract

Iron toxicity that seriously affect rice yield is a critical concern for the crop improvement programs in rice. Morphological analysis of germplasm is essential for the success of varietal crop improvement programs. The objective of this investigation is to estimate the phenotypic diversification of one hundred and fifty germplasm to identify the tolerant genotypes under iron toxic situation for exploitation of inherited variability from the accessible germplasm. Experiment has been carried out under lowland field condition to determine the reaction of rice germplasm under hotspots for iron toxicity. Significant differences among the genotypes have been observed. A significant difference is present among all the traits like days to 50% flowering, Plant height, panicle length, grain/panicle, grain weight, yield, leaf bronzing index (LBI) and tillers number. The phylogenetic analysis was also carried out to find out a core population for further study like association mapping with trait of interest. The genotypes like Mahsuri, Kusuma, Ganjamgedi, Pratikhya, Swarna, Dhusura have been found to be tolerant genotypes under iron toxic condition.