Basmati type restorers and maintainers for two cytosterile lines of rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Abstract

Low yielding aromatic rices have been the major casualty of green revolution where the main emphasis was on yield rather than quality. A large number of aromatic rices have already been lost and many are on the verge of extinction. The development of rice hybrids and release of aromatic hybrid Pusa RH 10 inspired the breeders to develop basmati hybrids as well. In three-line system of hybrid development, it is essential to have effective restorers and stable cms lines, which can produce heterotic hybrids. The low frequency of restorer lines among basmati rice cultivars is a serious handicap to develop basmati rice hybrids as only 9% of total basmati genotypes have been reported to possess restorer genes [1]. The purpose of identification maintainers was to transfer the male sterility cytoplasm into the genetic background of locally adopted varieties through backcross breeding to develop new basmati cms lines, while the purpose of identification of restorers was to find out suitable fertility restorers among the locally adopted varieties for the existing basmati cms lines as a short term strategy for the hybrid basmati breeding programme.