Genotypic and phenotypic correlations of yield components in rice

Abstract

Maximum tiller number, number of panicles per hill, productive tillers (%), high density (HD) grain index (HDI), thousand seed weight (g) and panicle weight (g) of eight varieties of rice (Oryza sativa L.) grown in a randomized complete block design with three replications were studied. In general, genotypic correlation coefficients were higher than the corresponding values of phenotypic ones, indicating the masking effect of the environment. The highest productive tillers percentage was observed in medium tillering varieties. HDI and panicle weight were high in low tillering varieties. Maximum tiller number and number of panicles per hill have negative effects on panicle weight. Again the productive tillers percentage also has a similar effect on thousand grain weight. The weak correlations between HDI and other yield components indicate the possibility of improving HDI without sacrificing the other yield components.