Quantitative Genetic Analysis of Yield and Quality Attributes in Non-Basmati Rice Lines: Implications for Breeding

Abstract

A study was conducted to assess genetic variability, heritability, and potential for genetic improvement among 30 non-basmati rice germplasm lines under field conditions at NEBCRC, GBPUA&T, Pantnagar. A set of important agronomic, yield-component and grain quality traits, including days to 50% flowering, plant height, panicle length, number of tillers per plant, 1000-grain weight, grain and kernel dimensions, hulling and milling percentages, alkali spreading value, and grain yield per plant, were recorded. Analysis of variance revealed highly significant differences among genotypes for all traits, indicating abundant genetic variability. The phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) consistently exceeded the genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV), implying environmental influence on trait expression. Broad-sense heritability estimates ranged from 48.76% to 95.30%, with the highest values for alkali spreading value, panicle length, 1000-grain weight, tiller number, plant height, and days to flowering. Genetic advance (GA) varied from 0.08 to 17.05, and genetic advance as a percentage of mean (GAM) ranged from 3.70% to 25.77%, with the highest GAM recorded for alkali spreading value, panicle length, tiller number, and 1000-grain weight. Traits combining high heritability and high GAM are likely under additive genetic control and may respond well to selection. These findings suggest that several agronomic and quality traits have considerable selection potential and can be exploited to improve yield and grain quality in non-basmati rice breeding programs.