Skip to main content

Rice Breeding

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Fundamentals of Field Crop Breeding

Abstract

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) belongs to Poaceae family and serves as food for more than half of the global population. Domesticated from O. preperennis about 10,000 years ago, it is cultivated in a wide range of ecosystems right from below the sea level to high mountain regions. Genetic improvement in India has helped in improving average productivity from 0.67 tons/ha in 1950–1951 to 2.74 t/ha during 2020–2021. Development of research infrastructure along with basic research helped in gaining understanding of the genetic nature of economically important traits. The major breakthrough in yield improvement was achieved through utilisation of sd1 in developing semi-dwarf high yielding varieties with sturdy stem, spurring the green revolution. Hybrid rice further enhanced rice productivity. Deciphering rice genome and advances in genomics helped in functional characterisation of ∼2800 economically important genes governing yield, resistance to major biotic and abiotic stresses, grain and nutritional quality, which enabled the integration of molecular markers in breeding. Thirty-six MAS-derived varieties with resistance to biotic and/or abiotic stress and 12 varieties with enhanced Zn and/or protein content have been released in India. Advances in genetics, breeding, genomics and phenomics, have enabled population improvement through genomic selection, while genome-editing has helped in creating novel alleles for useful genes. Aided by an evolving system for multi-location evaluation of elite genotypes under the All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Programme and a robust system of seed supply chain for dissemination of improved rice varieties, higher adoption by farmers has helped in improving and sustaining rice productivity. However, sustaining it in the face of climate change is a major challenge. Adoption of advanced tools and techniques can help rapid and precise breeding of improved rice varieties suited to changing human needs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Gopala Krishnan, S. et al. (2022). Rice Breeding. In: Yadava, D.K., Dikshit, H.K., Mishra, G.P., Tripathi, S. (eds) Fundamentals of Field Crop Breeding. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-9257-4_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics