Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Early Access

Genetic diversity, variability and trait associations in rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.10716
Submitted
17 July 2025
Published
13-02-2026

Abstract

This study assessed genetic divergence, variability and trait associations for 12 morphological characters in 30 rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes. Genetic divergence was estimated using Mahalanobis’ D² analysis. Genotype TKM 13 exhibited superior performance for traits such as days to 50 % flowering, plant height, number of productive tillers per plant, kernel length, kernel breadth, kernel L/B ratio and grain yield per plant. D² analysis revealed no clear relationship between geographic origin and genetic diversity. Traits including 100 grain weight, grain yield per plant and grain length contributed substantially to genetic divergence. High to moderate phenotypic (PVC) and genotypic (GCV) coefficient of variation, along with high heritability coupled with high genetic advance as a percentage of mean, were observed for traits such as grain L/B ratio, 100 grain weight and kernel traits. Most traits were predominantly controlled by additive gene action, indicating that selection would be effective for their improvement.

References

  1. 1. Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority. Cereals (rice, wheat, maize, bajra): Third advance estimates 2023–24. 2024. https://apeda.gov.in/sites/default/files/annual_report/APEDA_Annual_Report_English_2023-24.pdf
  2. 2. Food and Agriculture Organization. Rice market monitor. 2024;27(1). https://openknowledge.fao.org
  3. 3. USDA-FAS. Production, supply and distribution online (PS&D): India rice report. United States Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service; 2024. https://ipad.fas.usda.gov
  4. 4. Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Fourth advance estimates of production of foodgrains for 2023–24. Government of India; 2024. https://agricoop.nic.in
  5. 5. Government of India. Economic survey 2022–23: Statistical appendix, Table 1.19, per capita availability of foodgrains. Ministry of Finance; 2023. https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/economicsurvey/doc/stat/tab1.19.pdf
  6. 6. Dev SM, Suryanarayana MH. Strengthening India’s public distribution system: Current realities and ways forward. Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research; 2020. https://www.igidr.ac.in/pdf/publication/WP-2020-005.pdf
  7. 7. Cheng X, Huang Y, Tan Y, Tan L, Yin J, Zou G. Potentially useful dwarfing or semidwarfing genes in rice breeding in addition to the sd1 gene. Rice. 2022;15:66. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12284-022-00615-y
  8. 8. Dulbari D, Ahyuni D, Rochman F, Rahmadi R, Priyadi, Subarjo, et al. Pathway analysis of yield components in new plant type rice genotypes. Biodiversitas. 2025;26:770–7. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d260225
  9. 9. Mahalanobis PC. On the generalized distance in statistics. Proc Nat Sci India. 1936;2:49–55.
  10. 10. Panse VG, Sukhatme PV. Statistical methods for agricultural workers. 3rd ed. New Delhi: ICAR; 1985.
  11. 11. Dewey DR, Lu KH. A correlation and path coefficient analysis of components of crested wheat grass seed production. Agron J. 1959;51:513–8. https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj1959.00021962005100090002x
  12. 12. Sarma MK, Goswami RK, Sharma AK, Baruah M, Sarma D, Neog P. Genetic variability and diversity in indigenous rice germplasm of Assam under aerobic condition. Indian J Plant Sci. 2015;15(1):66–70.
  13. 13. Toshimenla, Singh J, Changkija S. Genetic divergence studies on upland rice grown in Nagaland. Indian J Agric Res. 2016;50(6):555–60.
  14. 14. Meena RK, Suresh BG, Choudhary R. Genetic variability and association analysis in rice (Oryza sativa L.) under irrigated conditions. Int J Agric Sci. 2022;14(3):105–9. https://doi.org/10.5958/2250-0499.2024.00051.6
  15. 15. Tandekar K, Bhandarkar S, Sarawgi AK. Genetic divergence studies for yield and its components in rice (Oryza sativa L.) accessions. J Pharmacogn Phytochem. 2018;SP1:1327–9.
  16. 16. Devi M, Jyothula DPB, Krishanveni B, Rao VS. Genetic divergence studies in rice (Oryza sativa L.) hybrids for yield and quality traits. Int J Curr Microbiol Appl Sci. 2019;8(6):1577–83.
  17. 17. Anusha P, Kumar J, Talha M. Genetic variability studies for yield and yield-attributing traits in rice (Oryza sativa L.). J Exp Agric Int. 2024;46(8):700–9. https://doi.org/10.9734/jeai/2024/v46i82753
  18. 18. Chhodavadiya RJ, Patel PB, Bhattacharya S. Genetic divergence and variability assessment of rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes. Int J Environ Clim Change. 2023;13(12):1008–16.
  19. 19. Gilbert NE. Diallel cross in plant breeding. Heredity. 1958;12:477–98. https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1958.48
  20. 20. Perween S, Kumar A, Prasad BD, Choudhary M. Assessment of genetic diversity in rice (Oryza sativa L.) under irrigated and drought stress conditions. Curr J Appl Sci Technol. 2020;39(1):112–25. https://doi.org/10.9734/CJAST/2020/v39i130487
  21. 21. Meena AK, Suresh J, Pancholee V, Mahanthesha M, Meena HP. Genetic divergence of maintainer lines of rice (Oryza sativa L.). Int J Curr Microbiol Appl Sci. 2017;6(4):948–55. https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2017.604.119
  22. 22. Barry AE, Traoré S, Diouf D. Genome scan of rice landrace populations reveals climate-driven selection in flowering genes. Rice. 2023;16(1):56. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12284-023-00633-4
  23. 23. Chamundeswari N. Studies on genetic divergence in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Int J Sci Environ. 2016;5(6):4018–23.
  24. 24. Radha T, Satheeshkumar P, Saravanan K. Genetic divergence for quantitative and quality traits in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Int J Curr Microbiol Appl Sci. 2018;7(5):494–500. https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2018.705.062
  25. 25. Rukminidevi K, Venkanna V, Hari Y, Satish Chandra B, Lingaiah N, Prasad KR. Genetic diversity and variability in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Pharma Innov J. 2020;9(1):391–9.
  26. 26. Roy P, Chatterjee S, Saha S. Genetic divergence in indigenous rice landraces using SSR markers. Indian J Genet Plant Breed. 2022;82(1):1–7. https://doi.org/10.5958/0975-6906.2022.00001.4
  27. 27. Singh AK, Yadav R, Kumar V, Prasad N. Correlation and path coefficient analysis in rice (Oryza sativa L.). J Pharmacogn Phytochem. 2022;11(6):1245–9. https://doi.org/10.22271/phyto.2022.v11.i6o.14231
  28. 28. Mbanjo EGN, Rabbi IY, Anandan A, Henry RJ. Harnessing genomic diversity for rice improvement. BMC Genomics. 2024;25:210. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-024-10610-w
  29. 29. John BA, Ramaswamy S, Swaminathan M, Dharmalingam K, Jegadeesan R. Stability models for rice breeding lines under temperature regimes. BMC Plant Biol. 2025;25:563. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06484-z
  30. 30. Salem HH, Abdel Ghani AH, Eltanany MMM. GWAS reveals new QTLs for water deficit tolerance in rice. Rice. 2024;17:29. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12284-024-00703-1
  31. 31. Hippeswamy S, Chandramohan Y, Srinivas B, Padmaja D. Selection of diverse parental lines in rice (Oryza sativa L.). SABRAO J Breed Genet. 2016;48(3):285–94.
  32. 32. Edukondalu B, Reddy VR, Rani TS, Kumari CA, Soundharya B. Variability and path analysis in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Int J Curr Microbiol Appl Sci. 2017;6(10):2369–76. https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2017.610.279
  33. 33. Venkatesan M, Elangaimannan R, Thilagavathi T. Quantitative analysis of rice. Plant Arch. 2019;19(1):1027–31.
  34. 34. Rani R, Singh SK, Mishra RK. Genetic variability and trait association in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Indian J Genet Plant Breed. 2022;82(2):348–55. https://doi.org/10.5958/0975-6906.2022.00047.6
  35. 35. Basumatary A, Kalita P, Roy S. Genetic variability and heritability in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Int J Chem Stud. 2023;11(2):49–54. https://doi.org/10.22271/chemi.2023.v11.i2a.12270
  36. 36. Bharathi R, Vanniarajan C, Shobhana VG. Genetic variability and path analysis in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Electron J Plant Breed. 2024;15(1):215–20. https://doi.org/10.37992/2024.1501.020
  37. 37. Parimala K, Raju CHS, Prasad ASH, Kumar SS, Reddy SN. Genetic parameters and path analysis in rice (Oryza sativa L.). J Pharmacogn Phytochem. 2020;9(1):414–7.
  38. 38. Bhor TJ, Jambhulkar RK, Kashid NV. Genetic variability for yield and micronutrients in rice (Oryza sativa L.). J Rice Res. 2024;17(2):13. https://doi.org/10.58297/OLXU5090
  39. 39. Hulmani NB, Jakkeral SA, Kolakar SS, Halingali BI, BC D. Genetic variability in red rice (Oryza sativa L.). J Adv Biol Biotechnol. 2024;27(11):74–80.
  40. 40. Lalrindiki H, Seyie K, Verma H, Rao DP, Chaturvedi HP. Genetic variation in upland rice (Oryza sativa L.) landraces. Curr Agric Res J. 2024;12(3). https://doi.org/10.12944/CARJ.12.3.28
  41. 41. Patel JR, Kumar M, Desai MM. Genetic variability and genetic advance in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Int J Curr Microbiol Appl Sci. 2021;10(2):1542–9.
  42. 42. Rajkumar D, Rani S, Kumari N. Genetic variability and heritability in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Pharma Innov J. 2023;12(5):328–32.
  43. 43. Vinodhini K, Saravanan K, Sabesan T. Evaluation of genetic variability in rice under salinity. Natl Conf Innov Environ Res Educ. Annamalai University; 2015. p. 19.
  44. 44. Srujana G, Suresh BG, Lavanya GR, Jalandhar Ram B, Sumanth V. Genetic variability and genetic advance in rice (Oryza sativa L.). J Pharmacogn Phytochem. 2017;6(4):564–6.
  45. 45. Radha T, Satheeshkumar P, Saravanan K, Suganthi S. Genetic variability and path analysis in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Plant Arch. 2019;19(2):2522–6.
  46. 46. Sharma A, Meena RK, Singh D. Genetic variability and character association in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Int J Chem Stud. 2021;9(2):1567–71.
  47. 47. Benke AP, Mahajan V, Mokat DN. Morphological and molecular diversity of Allium species. Genet Resour Crop Evol. 2024;1–20. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3440419/v1
  48. 48. Verma R, Yadav AK, Meena HP. Genetic variability and association analysis for grain quality traits in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Electron J Plant Breed. 2021;12(1):254–9. https://doi.org/10.37992/2021.1201.039
  49. 49. Islam MZ, Khalequzzaman M, Bashar MK, Ivy NA, Haque MM, Mian MAK. Variability assessment of aromatic rice germplasm. Sci World J. 2016;2016:1–14. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/2796720
  50. 50. Rathod AD, Pater D, Patel KP. Correlation and path coefficient analysis in rice (Oryza sativa L.). J Pharmacogn Phytochem. 2023;12(2):297–301.
  51. 51. Rani S, Kumar A, Sharma V. Correlation and path coefficient analysis in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Pharma Innov J. 2023;12(3):1196–200.
  52. 52. Anandan A, Eswaran R, Prakash M. Diversity in rice genotypes under salt-affected soil. Pertanika J Trop Agric Sci. 2011;34(1):33–40.
  53. 53. Singh AK, Yadav R, Kumar V, Prasad N. Genetic diversity assessment in rice (Oryza sativa L.). J Pharmacogn Phytochem. 2023;12(2):1130–5. https://doi.org/10.22271/phyto.2023.v12.i2o.14512
  54. 54. Garg P, Pandey DP, Singh D. Correlation and path analysis in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Crop Improv. 2010;37(1):46–51.
  55. 55. Maurya DM, Singh DP. Adaptability in rice. Indian J Genet. 1977;37:403–10.
  56. 56. Mishu MF, Rahman MW, Azad MAK, Biswas BK, Talukder MAI, Kayees MO, et al. Genetic variability and character association in aromatic rice (Oryza sativa L.). Int J Plant Soil Sci. 2016;9(1):1–8.
  57. 57. Pandey S, Doss DD, Shashidhar HE. Genetic variability and genetic advance in rice (Oryza sativa L.). J Pharmacogn Phytochem. 2018;7(4):333–7.
  58. 58. Prasad R, Praad LCP, Agarwal RK. Genetic diversity in Indian aromatic rice germplasm. Oryza. 2010;46:197–201.
  59. 59. Salim M, Rehman S, Abbas A, Farooq J. Genetic variability in Italian rice (Oryza sativa L.). J Agric Res. 2021;59(2):123–31.
  60. 60. Saravanan K, Sabesan T. Genetic divergence analysis of rice (Oryza sativa L.) in coastal saline lowlands. Plant Arch. 2010;10(2):685–8.
  61. 61. Senguttuvel P, Thiyagarajan K, Vijayalakshmi C, Geetha S, Bapu JRK, Viraktamath C. Genetic divergence of indica rice genotypes under saline conditions. Afr J Agric Res. 2013;8(48):6234–40.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.