Association studies of stem characteristics and cell wall polymers for genetic enhancement of lodging resistance in rice
摘要
Lodging resistance in rice is a complex trait intricately influenced by morphological, physical, anatomical and biochemical properties of the culm. The present study primarily focussed on association analysis of 30 traits, comprising 19 culm strength and 11 grain yield traits, in a distinct set of 37 indica and tropical japonica genotypes. We observed a significant contribution of all studied traits, except basal internode length, to overall variability and identified internode breaking weight (breaking resistance) as the key trait associated with lodging resistance. Correlation analysis revealed that four cell wall polymers viz., cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and silica enhanced rice lodging resistance by substantially increasing the mechanical strength of the basal stem. Multi-season data analysis identified four indica/tropical japonica derived lines, JBB4511, JBB1120, JBB4547 and JBB5952 as high yielding genotypes with strong culms. Overall, this study emphasizes the role of cell wall polymers in enhancing lodging resistance and demonstrates the potential of modifying rice plant architecture to improve grain yield and lodging resistance through sub-species hybridization between indica and tropical japonica.