New NSIC [National Seed Industry Council] approved special purpose rice variety for the irrigated lowlands

The demand for special purpose aromatic rice has dramatically increased over the past years. Efforts have been devoted to develop aromatic rice varieties to fit this high value need in the market. So far, three aromatic rice varieties have been released for commercial production by IRRI [International Rice Research Inst., Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines] and PhilRice [Philippine Rice Research Inst.]. The specialty attributes emphasized during breeding were aroma, physical appearance, milling potentials, and sensory traits. To date, the use of marker-aided selection (MAS) tool to incorporate pest resistance has been efficient. Hence, the elite line PR37299-31-69-16-2-1-2 (A) was developed in 2006 using MAS for bacterial leaf blight resistance, and consequently selected and evaluated for its breeding value and merits until 2010. It was entered in the NCT [National Cooperative Testing] Special Purpose category owing to its aromatic properties in 2011 2012. After two years of testing in the NCT, PR37299-31-69-16-2-1-2 (A) passed the standards for yield, resistance and grain quality including aroma. It yielded an average of 4331 kg/ha with a yield advantage of 15.5% over the check variety. Burdagol (3749 kg/ha). Its maturity ranges from 113 to 115 days and number of productive tillers from 15 to 16. It exhibited wide spectrum of resistance to diseases like blast, bacterial leaf blight, sheath blight, and tungro virus and also to major insect pests like white and yellow stem borers, brown plant hopper, and green leaf hopper. The good grain quality characteristics noted were: intermediate amylose content, 70% milling recovery, 55.2% head rice, long and intermediate grain size, and comparable acceptability as with Burdagol in terms of sensory qualities. In the cooked form, its aroma was stable even after cooling and remained white, tender, and tasty. This line was approved and registered as NSIC RC342 (Mabango 4) on October 18, 2013 by the National Seed Industry Council.