Phenotypic Diversity of Rice Landraces Collected from Goa State for Salinity and Agro-morphological Traits

Abstract

The present study aimed at the characterization of rice landraces collected from the state of Goa for their utilization in breeding programs. Eighteen landraces of rice were collected from the remote villages of Goa during the survey conducted between 2010 and 2013 along with passport data and traditional knowledge. All the 18 landraces were characterized for 27 qualitative and 16 quantitative characters as per the DUS guidelines. They were also screened for salt tolerance at seedling stage under microplot conditions. Qualitative characters were analyzed using Shannon diversity and Cluster analysis, whereas quantitative characters were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA). Shannon diversity index ranged from 0.00 to 1.00 with a mean of 0.60. Cluster analysis grouped the accessions into two major clusters with three subclusters in each of the main cluster with a Jaccard similarity coefficient varying between 0.38 and 0.87. PCA has revealed four major components (eigenvalue[1]), which altogether explained 80.60% of the total variation. Phenotyping for salt stress at seedling stage grouped the landraces as highly tolerant (Korgut - red), moderately tolerant (Shidde, Korgutblack) and sensitive to highly sensitive. Information generated from this study would be useful in selecting landrace collections as donors in breeding new varieties.