Multivariate analysis of wild rice MAGIC population under sodic soil condition

Abstract

A study was conducted with 98 wild rice MAGIC lines under sodic soil conditions to estimate potential variation among rice genotypes. Observations on 12 morphometric traits were subjected to multivariate analyses viz., PCA and cluster analysis to assess genetic diversity. A correlogram was generated to depict the association among the traits. Results of ANOVA suggested the existence of significant variability among the lines. PCA showed that PC1 and PC2 represented 54 per cent of variation. PC1 accounted for the highest variance (38 %) for six characters followed by PC2 which accounted for (15 %) for four characters. Flag leaf area, plant height, panicle length, flag leaf length, flag leaf breadth and panicle breadth were identified as vital traits contributing to variability. Based on hierarchical cluster analysis, the genotypes were grouped into eight clusters. Correlation analysis suggested that the traits viz., number of productive tillers, number of grains per panicle, panicle length and 100 grain weight had a significant correlation with grain yield. Based on per se performance and correlation, the genotypes WRM 6, WRM 10, WRM 22, WRM 29 and WRM 105 were identified as superior and could be exploited as genetic stocks for rice improvement under sodic soil conditions.