Inter-Relationship and Path Analysis in Rice (Oryza sativa L.) under Sodicity

AbstractRice occupies a pivotal place in the Indian agriculture and has been grown under diverse ecological conditions and gets exposed to different environmental stresses like salinity, alkalinity and drought. Development of rice varieties for salt af-fected areas is emphasized on the improvement of rice yield potential in specific environment. However, grain yield mostly depends on net result of yield contributing traits. While information related to the relationship between yield and its com-ponents in the breeding program particularly for sodicity is very limited. Hence, the present investigation was carried out to study the correlation and path analysis in 10 parents and their F 1 hybrids of rice (Oryza sativa L.) under sodic environ-ment. Character association of the yield and its attributing traits revealed that significant positive association of grain yield per plant with number of productive tillers per plant, panicle length, spikelet fertility percentage, number of filled grains per panicle, proline content, total chlorophyll content and chlorophyll stability index. The sodicity related traits viz., Na+: K+ ratio and chlorophyll a/b ratio expressed significant negative association with single plant yield. Hence, selection for these traits might improve yield. Investigation on path coefficient analysis showed that number of productive tillers per plant and number of filled grains per panicle expressed high and positive direct effect on grain yield. Hundredgrain weight and Na+: K+ ratio expressed positive and moderate direct effects on single plant yield. The study also inferred that productive tillers per plant and filled grains per panicle contributed equally through direct and indirect effects for yield improvement. Such attributes could be utilized as the selection indices for sodicity tolerance in rice. 1