Evaluation of Breeding Lines and Germplasm for Iron Content in Grains of Rice (Oryza Sativa L)

Abstract

Rice is the staple food for most of the Asian countries. India is the second largest producer of rice. According to WHO, 1.62 billion people suffer from anemia in developing countries. Though rice is a staple food as energy source, it does not meet essential micronutrient requirements for human consumption. To meet micronutrient requirements in rice, strategy called biofortification was employed. In current experiment 960 genotypes were used for screening to identify the iron content in grains of rice using Peris Prussian Blue method. High iron, yielding lines (68) were selected from the above experiment and used for screen under both wetland and aerobic condition to identify the genotypes for breeding. Five genotypes were selected based on iron content in grains and yield (Azucena, Jeerigesanna and BI33, IRRI38, Moromutant). Three mapping populations were developed using these five parents and populations were evaluated for aroma, which is belived to be proportional with grain iron content. Segregation of aroma was not significantly deviating from the monogenic ratio of 3:1. These mapping populations were advanced by continuous selfing to develop RI Ls for further evaluation of iron and zinc content in the grains and selection of transgressant lines using marker assisted selection and estimations are in process. Stabilized RILs with high Zinc and Iron content can be released as potential variety for micronutrient content.