Agro-Morphological Fingerprinting of Rice Varieties of Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Abstract

Rice is an important cereal crop of A&N Islands. The settlement of human population in these islands originating from different places in mainland states of India over time resulted in the introduction of many rice germplasm and varieties in the islands. Eventually these different types got co-evolved, adapted and found niche in the islands along with other local types. Therefore, diversity of human population got reflected in the genetic diversity of rice crop in the islands. The government organizations like ICAR-Central Island Agricultural Research Institute (CIARI), Port Blair and Department of Agriculture, A&N Administration also introduced high yielding rice varieties for raising productivity in the islands. In addition, ICAR-CIARI, Port Blair also evaluated, developed and recommended suitable high yielding varieties to the Island farmers from time to time. These efforts have undoubtedly steered the rice production enhancement in the islands. Therefore, it is important to characterize in detail these important varieties and germplasm lines not only for research purpose but also for safeguarding IPR issues of the farmers and stakeholders. We have endeavored to screen, evaluate and characterize 26 important Islands varieties and germplasm lines for the 62 Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability (DUS) traits recommended for the rice crop. All these important rice germplasm lines were evaluated in replicated trials for DUS characterization at Bloomsdale Research Farm, Port Blair. The recommended and uniform packages of practices were adopted to raise the crop. Similarly, standard methodology was followed for precise observations and data recording during the entire crop season. This bulletin encompasses the detailed characterization of important rice germplasm of A&N Islands.