LINE X TESTER ANALYSIS FOR GRAIN YIELD AND YIELD RELATED TRAITS FOR SOME CYTOPLASMIC MALE STERILE AND RESTORER LINES OF RICE

Combining ability analysis for agronomic and yield and its components traits was carried out in hybrid rice through Line x Tester analysis of 24 hybrid rice combinations evaluated by crossing six females (CMS lines) with four male lines (restorer lines) along with parents and hybrid check EHR1. The 24 hybrids along with 10 parents and one check were grown in a randomized block design with three replications and were evaluated for seven agronomic and yield and its components characters. The experiment was conducted at the experimental farm of Sakha Research Station, Sakha, Kafr EL Sheikh, Egypt in two summer growing seasons 2019 and 2020. The estimate of variance due to SCA was higher than that due to GCA for plant height, panicle length, filled grains panicle-1 and grain yield plant-1, suggesting greater importance of non-additive genetic variance. In case of additive gene action was recorded by higher GCA variance over SCA. The estimates of GCA effects indicating that, among females (CMS lines), IR58025A/B and Pusa 3A/B and among males (restorer) Giza Basmati 201 and Giza 181 are good general combiners for grain yield plant -1. High SCA effects were observed in the hybrids IR68902A/Vit.l, IR68897A/ Giza Basmati 201, Pusa 3A/Giza 181, Pusa 3A/Vit.l and IR58025A/Vit.3and they were found to be the best hybrid rice combinations for grain yield plant-1 and some yield and its components characters. Therefore, it is revealed that the good x good general combiners exhibiting high SCA can be utilized for improvement single plant selection in segregating generations.