TRAIT ASSOCIATIONS' ANALYSIS OF BLAST RESISTANT SEGREGATING POPULATIONS OF RICE

Improvement of blast resistance hybrid rice parents is one of main target of rice breeding in blast endemic areas. The three F-2 blast resistant introgressed segregating populations were used to study the association and the effects of yield related traits on single plant yield in rice. Thousand grain weight was strongly correlated with the single plant yield (r = 0.84**, p < 0.01) in CB 87R x Zenith > (r = 0.46**, p < 0.01) in TNAU CMS 2B x Zenith. Plant height was the important yield determining component for CB 174 R x Zenith (0.34), thousand grain weight for CB 87 R x Zenith (0.74) and number of productive tillers for (0.54) TNAU CMS 2B x Zenith showing a direct effect. The obtained genetic information from the present study indicated that variation exists in available material, thus allowing the selection of desirable segregants for further improvement in future rice breeding program.