Combining High Yields and Blast Resistance in Rice (Oryza spp.): A Screening under Upland and Lowland Conditions in Benin

Octaviano Yelome,Kris Audenaert,Sofie Landschoot,Drissa Silue,Geert Haesaert,Wouter Vanhove,Alexandre Dansi,Patrick Damme

doi:10.3390/su10072500

Octaviano Yelome, Kris Audenaert + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072500

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Abstract

The future security of the supply of rice for food in Africa depends on improving the level of local production to achieve self-sufficiency. In order to cope with the existing gap between production and actual demand, combining a high level of rice blast tolerance and a high-yield potential is necessary. The current study was conducted under upland and lowland conditions in Benin to gain insight into the performance of selected blast-resistant accessions along with some currently grown varieties. This study revealed a high phenotypic variability among these accessions. Furthermore, differences in the performance of these accessions under lowland and upland conditions were observed. Principal component analysis showed their grouping in three clusters. The analysis also demonstrated a high yield potential among the blast-resistant rice accessions whether they were Oryza sativa or O. glaberrima. Furthermore, there was a significant correlation between yield and both spikelet fertility and growth cycle duration. In conclusion, the present study identified promising rice accessions for future breeding. High phenotypic variability in combination with interesting traits can help to develop new resilient varieties. Finally, when the traits correlate with yield, they can be used as markers for an early screening method for identifying promising accessions at an early stage.

Highlights

Rice (Oryza spp.) is the most cultivated cereal crop after wheat, and a primary food consumed by millions of people worldwide
The germplasm of Oryza spp. included in this study is a subset of 42 rice accessions (5 O. sativa accessions and 37 O. glaberrima) originating from six West African countries (Appendix A Table A1)
The data for the percentage of fertile tillers, total number of spikelets, spikelet fertility, panicle secondary branching, days to 80% heading, days to 80% maturity, and grain yield were the major discriminants between lowland and upland ecologies

Summary

Introduction

Rice (Oryza spp.) is the most cultivated cereal crop after wheat, and a primary food consumed by millions of people worldwide. Africa has an abundant supply of natural resources that can support a huge expansion in food, rice production [2]. Africa harvests annually more than 12,503,331 ha of rice to feed many low-income households with limited access to food [4]. Annual rice production only covers 62% of the actual needs, whereas the demand is growing faster than for any other staple food on the continent [5,6]. To meet the future rice demands, yield increase per unit of land is seen as a key component to achieve self-sufficiency. The conventional selection method of elite rice cultivars for use in breeding hybrids that have better stress tolerance is an option for increasing production. The introduction of biotechnology in the development of new breeding methodologies using DNA-based markers facilitates further yield improvement [7]

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