Abstract
Jasmine 85 is the most popular and widely cultivated rice variety in Ghana. Samples of Jasmine 85 were collected from seven seed sources with a reference sample obtained from Africa Rice Center, Senegal. Morphological evaluation involved qualitative and quantitative data. Jasmine 85 from all sources were similar in terms of aroma, anthocyanin coloration, leaf pubescence, and ligule shape. The sources showed significant differences to pericarp colour, days to 50% heading, plant height, seed length and seed width. Physico-chemical analyses showed grain size and shape, grain chalkiness; cooking time, head rice yield, gelatinisation temperature, amylose content and viscosity properties differed significantly among the sources whilst grain hardness was not significantly different. Molecular characterisation using 15 SSR markers showed that although closely related, the sources differed significantly. None of the sources in Ghana was genetically identical to the reference sample. Seeds from different sources should not be mixed for sale or production, and these varieties should be treated separately in future evaluations.
Highlights
The rice import bill of Ghana is about US$300 million accounting for 70% of local demand (MoFA, 2009)
Samples of Jasmine 85 were collected from seven seed sources with a reference sample obtained from Africa Rice Center, Senegal
Jasmine 85 from all sources were similar in terms of aroma, anthocyanin coloration, leaf pubescence, and ligule shape
Summary
The rice import bill of Ghana is about US$300 million accounting for 70% of local demand (MoFA, 2009). Local production of milled rice recently has grown by 10.5 per cent annually, from 242,000 metric tons (MT) in 2004 to 481,000 MT in 2012, most of this growth in production has come from area expansion (7.5 per cent), with the remaining 3.0 per cent coming from productivity improvements. Despite these efforts, Ghana imported 640,000 MT of rice in 2013 (IFPRI, 2014). This study sought to use morphology, biochemical and molecular tools to determine differences among Jasmine 85 from different sources so as to improve seed quality
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