Line x tester analysis of combining ability in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Abstract

Rice (Otyza sativa L.) is the most important food crop of India, occupying 44.9 m ha with a total production of 89.4 m t and the average productivity of 1.9 t ha-1. The average productivity of rice in India is low (1.9 t ha-1) in contrast to nearly 6.0 t ha-1 in China [1). The combining ability studies provide useful information for the selection of high order parents for effective breeding, besides elucidating the nature and magnitude of gene interaction involved in the inheritance of various characters.