Evaluation of morpho-agronomical characters and grain quality of red rice lines

Indonesia is rich for pigmented rice including red rice, which are claimed to have more health benefit compared to white rice. This rice contains numerous nutritional and bioactive components that can be important as functional food. The study aimed to evaluate the red rice lines produced by Indonesian Rice Research Institute (ICRR) based on morphological, yield, and grain quality characters. A total of 26 rice genotypes consisting of 25 red rice lines and a popular improved red variety, namely Inpari 24 were evaluated at least 15 their characters. These tested rice lines were derived from ten crosses with various parents. The field experiment was conducted at Pusakanegara Experimental Station, Subang, West Java in February–May 2019 using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The results showed that four red rice lines had a good agronomic performance, high yield, and premium rice quality, namely B14484E-MR-17-2-2-8, B14484E-MR-17-2-2-14, B14484E-MR-17-2-3-2, and B14484E-MR-20-2-2-1. These lines had grain yield 8.3–8.6 t/ha, significantly higher than Inpari 24 (7.43 t/ha), soft-medium rice texture, >85% head rice, and long-medium grain shape with small chalkiness. These selected red rice lines from this study could be potential for releasing variety after further field multiple trials.