Abstract

 

The study was conducted to examine the phenotypic characteristics of rice (Oryza sativa L.) and to study their variability. The experiment was carried out in a randomized block system with 53 rice genotypes in three replications, with a plot size of 3 m2 during the 2022 vegetative year. From each genotype, 10 plants were randomly selected, and 9 phenotypic traits were examined for each of them. The influence of genotypes is highly significant for all analysed traits: plant height, stem height, panicle length, panicle weight, the number of filled grains in a panicle, the number of unfilled grains in a panicle, the weight of filled grains, the weight of unfiled grains, and the number of primary branches per panicle. The obtained results were statistically analysed by ANOVA and were tested with the LSD test, with a probability of 0.001. GN-104 showed the highest value for the panicle length (20.25 cm), the highest total number of grains (131), as well as the highest number of filled grains (106.7). GN-119 had maximum values for the panicle weight (3.79 g) and the number of filled grains (3.43), along with GN-102 (3.49). GN-152 had above average values for all positive traits but belongs to tall genotypes. GN-153 had the lowest weight per panicle (1.29 g), the lowest number of filled grains per panicle (40.47), and the lowest weight of filled grains (1.10 g), while GN-103 had the lowest number of unfilled grains per panicle. Also, the obtained results have shown that there is phenotypic variation among genotypes for these traits. This wide phenotypic variation can be used in rice breeding programs, i.e., crossing genotypes with desired traits.

 

Key words: Plant height, Panicle weight, Filled grains, Primary branches, Paddy rice.