Phenotypic Evaluation of Recombinant Inbred Lines for Sodicity Tolerance at Reproductive Stage in Rice

Abstract

Salt stress is the most widespread soil problem in rice-growing countries, and it causes significant reductions in rice production worldwide. Identifying QTLs for sodicity tolerance at the reproductive stage is crucial to enhance the grain yield in sodic stress ecology. From this perspective, we developed recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from MTU 1001/Kalarata. A set of 176 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) was evaluated, along with the tolerant parent Kalarata and the sensitive parent MTU 1001, in a controlled microplot with a sodicity of pH ~ 9.5 at ICAR - Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI), Karnal. The lines RIL34 (13.1 g/plant), RIL83 (12.7 g/plant), RIL40 (11 g/plant), RIL41 (10.2 g/plant), and RIL124 (10.1 g/plant) were top yielders. The yield-contributing traits, namely, plant height (cm), panicle length (cm), total tiller, productive tiller, biological weight (g/plant), and spikelet fertility (%), were highly affected in sodic stress conditions. The tolerant lines RIL34, RIL83, RIL40, RIL41, and RIL124 could be used for breeding programs and further studies to dissect the molecular and physiological mechanisms of reproductive stage sodic stress tolerance in rice.

Keywords

• sodicity tolerance
• RILs
• rice
• reproductive stage