Rice breeding strategies in Malaysia
1982
Varughese, J. | Arasu, N.T. | Chen, Y.H.
Rice varietal improvement work began in Malaysia around 1915 with the selection of localized traditional varieties and this was followed by pure line selection work. Countrywide adaptability trials were initiated in 1961 to select widely adaptable varieties. Breeding for short-term double cropping varieties began with the introduction of the Cuttack hybrids from which Malinja and Mahsuri were developed. Since yield increase was considered the most important requirement then, IR8 from IRRI was release as Ria to introduce the concept of very high yields associated with the stiff strawed, dwarf plant type. Similar varieties were selected locally on this basis but were rejected by farmers due to their poor adaptability and poor rice quality. To resolve this problem, development of varieties with locally adapted parent and with acceptable rice quality was resorted to. The recent release of Setanjung, Sekencang and Sekembang was the result of such approach. The current concept in rice breeding allows for development of adaptable varieties for general use and location-specific varieties for areas with specific requirements like drought, submergence and acid sulphate tolerance. The requirements of rainfed areas are also catered for
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