Rice (Oryza spices) is a
monocotyledonous plant belonging to the family Granineae and subfamily
Oryzoidea. It is ranked second to wheat among the most cultivated cereals in
the world. Due to its importance as a food crop, rice is being planted on
approximately 11% of the Earth’s cultivated land area. During crop improvement strategies, selection on breeding lines depends on a given set of
criteria found suitable to a particular environment and for specific
application.
This process has led to
development of morphologically related genotypes. Phenotypic similarity poses
threats of epidemic of pests and diseases. To address this problem, phenotypic
characterization is important in breeding program to avoid this inherent danger
of phenotypic uniformity. In addition, landraces offers valuable genetic
materials that can be utilized in future crop development and improvement
programs. High yielding varieties which are the back bone of green revolution
have led to erosion of landraces and wild varieties of rice5. Importance of
landraces can never be ignored in agriculture system.
This is because
improvement in existing varieties depends upon desirable genes which are
possibly present in landraces and wild varieties only.
Therefore, characterization
of phenotypic diversity on existing landraces of rice reveals important traits
of interest that can be utilized in rice improvement programs. A number of
research studies on phenotypic diversity assessment of various rice varieties around
the world based on grain and kernel traits have been carried out. However, phenotypic diversity studies on rice genotypes from Kenya and Tanzania based on grain and
kernel traits has not yet been studied before.
Therefore, the objectives of
this study were to determine the phenotypic diversity on selected rice (Oryza
sativa L) genotypes from Kenya and Tanzania along other 2 genotypes from
Philippine based on 7 grain and kernel traits and to identify the traits that
contribute to the total variation among the rice genotypes studied. Information
generated from phenotyping these genotypes can be utilized in rice breeding
programs.
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