Facilitating Role of ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research, Hyderabad in Multilocation Evaluation and Rice Varietal Release for Salinity and Alkalinity Tolerance in India

Rice is the principal staple food crop for more than half of the world’s population. India ranks first in the area and second in rice production worldwide. The ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research (ICAR-IIRR), Hyderabad, was established in1965 as the All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Project, now known as All India Coordinated Research Project on Rice (AICRPR) under the aegis of ICAR, and continues to play a pivotal role in conducting nationwide interdisciplinary research for maximizing rice production. The mandate of AICRPR is to coordinate a rice research program in India, basic and strategic research for enhancing rice productivity by developing location-specific varieties and technologies for various ecosystems. Besides, it is involved in the dissemination of technologies, capacity building, and establishing linkages with rice research centers. Under changing climatic conditions, salt stress is becoming devastating abiotic stress next to drought, affecting rice production. Therefore, special focus is given by AICRPR to salt tolerance, and salinity/alkalinity varietal trials are composed to screen elite lines in hotspots to identify the climate-resilient varieties suitable for salt-affected soils. Since its inception, AICRPR has shown significant progress and contributed 63 saline/alkaline tolerant rice varieties, which were released and notified for cultivation in problem soils. This chapter discusses the genesis and role of ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research under the coordinated multilocation testing program, significant achievements made in salt tolerance breeding under AICRPR, and future directions for enriching rice productivity in salt-affected soils of India.