Improving grain quality in hybrid rice
2003
Zaman, F.U. | Viraktamath, B.C. | Virmani, S.S.
Grain quality preferences in rice vary from region to region and country to country. In most countries, long-grain indica rice, which is soft and nonsticky on cooking, is preferredin others, low-amylose japonica rice, which is soft and sticky on cooking, is liked. Premium basmati rice is yet another group possessing some specific characteristic features, such as the presence of aroma, tenderness, and linear elongation on cooking. In the case of hybrids, quality considerations assume greater significance as their produce is formed by F2 seed generation. Most of the hybrids commercialized in the tropics are based on IR58025A. Although these hybrids yielded 15-20% higher than high-yielding popular varieties, their grain quality did not find acceptability by consumers in some parts of India and Bangladesh. In some regions in India, the Philippines, and Vietnam, hybrids derived from IR58025A were widely accepted. This led to the development of hybrids to meet specific regional quality requirements. With this in view, as a first step, efforts have begun at IRRI and other centers to critically analyze the quality characteristics of all available CMS lines, maintainers, restorers, and their hybrids. This has helped to identify some new CMS and TGMS lines combining desirable quality characteristics for the development of hybrids. Simultaneously, the directed development of parental lines combining good grain quality, including basmati characteristics, has begun in India. Efforts in this direction have helped in the development of the first basmati high-quality hybrid, Pusa RH-10. Among other hybrids released in India so far, ADT RH-1 possesses good grain quality. In China also, greater emphasis is being given to the improvement of grain quality of hybrids.
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