Genetic study of yield variation in medium to early duration irrigated rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes

An experiment was conducted during Kharif 2024 at BTC College of Agriculture and Research Station, Bilaspur, under IGKV, Raipur, to evaluate fourteen medium to early duration irrigated rice genotypes along with four checks (MTU-1010, US-312, CHANDRAHASINI, and Gontra Bidhan-3). Significant variability was observed for yield and yield-contributing traits, with high GCV, PCV, heritability, and genetic advance recorded for number of fertile spikelet’s per panicle, biological yield, grain yield, and number of effective tillers per plant, indicating the predominance of additive gene action and their suitability for selection. Grain yield showed strong positive correlations with panicle length, effective tillers, biological yield, 1000-grain weight, spikelet’s per panicle, flowering, maturity, L/B ratio, and plant height, suggesting their utility as selection criteria. Path analysis revealed that fertile spikelet’s per panicle, days to maturity, biological yield, L/B ratio, and plant height exerted the highest positive direct effects on grain yield. Overall, genotypes HRI-216, RNC-0992, HRI-217, RRX-3341, and YNPK-7258 were superior in yield performance over all checks, indicating their promise for future improvement of medium to early duration irrigated rice.