Inventory and morphological characterization of local upland rice in the highlands of South Sumatra province

Abstract

South Sumatra has various types of local rice in various agroecosystems that have the potential as plant genetic resources (PGR) of food crops. At present, the existence of the PGR has been diminished due to genetic erosion. Inventory and characterization of local rice genetic resources were carried out in the highlands of South Sumatra during 2014–2017. The study was conducted in Muara Enim, Ogan Komering Ulu, Pagar Alam, and Lahat Regencies. The objective of the study was to inventory and characterize the PGR. The method used was exploration and desk study. Purposive sampling was applied. Morpho-agronomic characterization was carried out in situ and ex situ. Morphological observations were carried out by visually observing the parts of leaves, stems, panicles and unhulled seeds of the rice accessionsin the location. Morphological characteristics were analyzed descriptively by tabulation. Inventory result showed 17 varieties of local upland rice were spread across four regencies. Local upland rice varieties originating from the regencies with different biophysical characteristics showed differences in morphological characteristics. Among the 17 local varieties, 3 varieties were characterized, namely Setangkai, Barokah and Ayek Keruh. Morpho-agronomic characterization results showed that there was a high diversity of rice accessions collected from different locations in South Sumatra.