Genetic diversity studies for morphological characters and micronutrient content in red rice germplasm
DOI:10.37992/2025.1602.028
Abstract
Rice is the most staple crop of the world consumed by poorest to richest person in this world. However, rice is a poor source of essential micronutrients such as Iron (Fe) and Zinc (Zn). In rice, evaluating genetic diversity is an essential step during the process of development of trait-specific varieties. Genetic diversity studies among red rice germplasm lines was conducted to evaluate 66 red rice lines for morphological traits and zinc, iron and protein content. Three lines, namely Kalavathi, Misebhatta and Karikagga exhibited unique characters for most of the morphological traits. Correlation studies revealed significant positive association of grain yield with grain zinc content. Cluster analysis classified the 66 red rice germplasm lines into nine distinct clusters. Cluster I was the largest and Cluster VI had germplasm with high zinc content and grain yield per plant. Iron content was highest in cluster VIII. The first five components in the principal component analysis with Eigen values >1 contributed to 66.97% of the total variability. Among the germplasm, Shahara, Hallaga and Karthika recorded high zinc, iron and protein content respectively and could serve as potential source for grain nutritional content in red rice.
Keywords: Red rice, micronutrient content, genetic diversity, cluster analysis
Genetic diversity studies for morphological characters and micronutrient content in red rice germplasm
. 2025. Electronic Journal of Plant Breeding, 16 2, 275-287. Retrieved from https://ejplantbreeding.org/index.php/EJPB/article/view/5293It is certified that:
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