Interspecific Oryza Sativa L. X O. Glaberrima Steud. progenies in upland rice improvement

Abstract

Fertile interspecific progenies between Oryza sativa L. and O. glaberrima Steud. were produced through backcrossing and doubled haploid breeding (DHB). Backcrossing with the O. sativa parents increased fertility and helped combine the O. sativa and O. glaberrima features. The use of DHB to generate a large proportion of doubled haploids from interspecific F2 hybrids, helped overcome constraints associated with the conventional breeding of these species, such as: (1) slow fixation of the lines, (2) frequent partial sterility of the progenies and (3) low recovery of useful recombinants. Although true interspecific progenies between O. sativa and O. glaberrima were generally rare, their occurrence in some populations was as high as 30%. Some progenies combined the high yield potential of O. sativa, a result of high spikelet number caused by secondary branches on the panicle, with useful traits of O. glaberrima such as rapid leaf canopy establishment and high N responsiveness. The progenies partly inherited the O. glaberrima parents' high specific leaf area (SLA) during early growth, theoretically improving competitiveness with weeds, and from the O. sativa parents the rapid decrease in SLA towards the reproductive stage, theoretically allowing for high leaf photosynthetic rates and high grain yield. Research is in progress to develop new interspecific plant type concepts for resource poor, weed prone upland rice environments in West Africa.