Semi-dwarf Stature Research Articles

Engineering brassinosteroids pathway: a key strategy for enhancing crop yields.

Two significant studies have unveiled the pivotal role of BR regulation in shaping distinct features: the clustered-spikelet architecture in rice and the superior semi-dwarf stature in wheat.

A single nucleotide substitution in BnaC02.LBD6 promoter causes blade shape variation in Brassica napus

Leaf shape is a part of ideotype. Appropriate leaf rolling aids compact plant architecture. Oilseed is a crucial crop, but the genetic basis for leaf shape development in rapeseed (Brassica napus) is unclear, and no corresponding genetic improvement germplasm resources are available. We identified a dominant mutant, INSIDE-ROLLING LEAF1 (IRL1), in rapeseed with internal rolling of leaves due to abnormal mesophyll cell development. It had drooped siliques and a semi-dwarf stature, reducing of one to two effective branch numbers. Map-based cloning and complementary validation confirmed BnaC02G0201100ZS as causal gene IRL1. BnaC02G0201100ZS encodes LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARIES DOMAIN6 (BnaC02.LBD6). Phenotypic variation of the irl1 mutant was due to an increase in BnaC02.LBD6 expression owing to a single nucleotide substitution at the DNA binding site in the promoter. Phenotype of plants overexpressing BnaC02.LBD6 was similar to that of the irl1 mutant. Haploid analysis showed a rare variation in BnaC02.LBD6 promoter, resulting in a unique phenotype in the irl1 mutant. Transcriptome analysis showed the differential expression of genes related to leaf adaxial–abaxial polarity development, secondary metabolic processes, and hormone signalling pathways. We provide novel insights into rapeseed: the genetic basis of variation in leaf characteristics and valuable genetic resources for plant architecture improvement.

A maize semi-dwarf mutant reveals a GRAS transcription factor involved in brassinosteroid signaling.

Brassinosteroids (BR) and gibberellins (GA) regulate plant height and leaf angle in maize (Zea mays). Mutants with defects in BR or GA biosynthesis or signaling identify components of these pathways and enhance our knowledge about plant growth and development. In this study, we characterized three recessive mutant alleles of GRAS transcription factor 42 (gras42) in maize, a GRAS transcription factor gene orthologous to the DWARF AND LOW TILLERING (DLT) gene of rice (Oryza sativa). These maize mutants exhibited semi-dwarf stature, shorter and wider leaves, and more upright leaf angle. Transcriptome analysis revealed a role for GRAS42 as a determinant of BR signaling. Analysis of the expression consequences from loss of GRAS42 in the gras42-mu1021149 mutant indicated a weak loss of BR signaling in the mutant, consistent with its previously demonstrated role in BR signaling in rice. Loss of BR signaling was also evident by the enhancement of weak BR biosynthetic mutant alleles in double mutants of nana plant1-1 and gras42-mu1021149. The gras42-mu1021149 mutant had little effect on GA-regulated gene expression, suggesting that GRAS42 is not a regulator of core GA signaling genes in maize. Single-cell expression data identified gras42 expressed among cells in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle consistent with its previously demonstrated role in cell cycle gene expression in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Cis-acting natural variation controlling GRAS42 transcript accumulation was identified by expression genome-wide association study (eGWAS) in maize. Our results demonstrate a conserved role for GRAS42/SCARECROW-LIKE 28 (SCL28)/DLT in BR signaling, clarify the role of this gene in GA signaling, and suggest mechanisms of tillering and leaf angle control by BR.

Rice CO 53: A high yielding drought tolerant rice variety for drought prone districts of Tamil Nadu

Early duration drought tolerant rice culture CB 06803, a derivative of the cross PMK (R ) 3 x Norungan was released as Rice CO 53 during the year 2020 as an alternate variety for Anna(R)4, with 115 -120 days duration. It possesses desirable features like high yield, drought tolerance and better physiological efficiency. This culture with semi dwarf stature has efficient tillering capacity, long droopy panicles with a highly acceptable plant characters and is a replacement for the rice variety Anna (R) 4 due to its grain yield and pest and disease resistance. In the overall yield analysis, the culture CB06803 recorded an overall mean grain yield of 3718 kg/ha which was 12.19 per cent increase over TKM (R) 12 and 14.08 per cent over Anna (R) 4 under dry condition. Under semi dry condition, it recorded 3866 kg/ha with 18.40 per cent increase over TKM (R) 12 and 8.67 per cent over Anna (R) 4. It is moderately resistant to WBPH, leaf blast, neck blast, sheath rot, brown spot and RTD under artificial condition. It has white short bold rice with high milling percentage (69.6), head rice recovery (59.6%) and suitable for idly making. The culture, CB 06803 had better  agronomic efficiency than TKM (R)12 and Anna (R) 4 by recording more number of productive tillers per plant and grain yield under control and drought. The culture CB 06803 had better physiological efficiency under drought than TKM (R) 12 and Anna (R) 4  having higher RWC, total chlorophyll content, chlorophyll stability index, photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance and photo chemical efficiency. The culture had higher proline content than TKM (R) 12 and was on par with Anna (R) 4. It had higher catalase activity than Anna (R) 4. CB 06803 had better physiological efficiency under drought by showing partial closure of stomata as that of Sahbagidhan. CO 53 with higher grain yield under drought, disease resistance and short bold grains and suitable for cultivation in drought prone districts of Tamil Nadu as direct seeded rainfed or semi dry rice ecosystem. Keywords: Rice CO 53, bold grain rice, short duration, drought tolerance

Genetic improvement of traditional Basmati rice Ranbir Basmati for semi-dwarfism and blast resistance through molecular breeding

The traditional Basmati rices grown in north-western foothills of Himalayas in India are known world-wide for their exquisite aroma and exceptional eating and cooking qualities. These varieties are tall and suffer heavy losses due to their susceptibility to lodging as well as blast disease. In present study, we improved a popular traditional Basmati rice variety ‘Ranbir Basmati’ for semi-dwarfism and resistance to blast by incorporating the semi-dwarfing gene, sd1 and two blast resistance genes, Pi9 and Pi54 through marker-assisted backcross breeding. Combining marker-assisted background selection with stringent phenotypic selection for aroma and seed quality traits during backcrossing enabled faster recovery of recurrent parent genome and reconstitution of the genomic regions associated with Basmati quality traits in the gene pyramided lines. All pyramided lines were significantly short statured with a reduction of 23.46 to 40.26 cm in height, as compared to recurrent parent, with many of them exhibiting higher grain yield and superior quality attributes than Ranbir Basmati. The yield superiority of the pyramided lines primarily resulted from the improvement in panicle number and semi-dwarf stature conferred by sd1 gene. The gene pyramided lines showed complete resistance to five highly virulent blast races that collectively showed compatibility with 16 different resistance genes, suggesting the broad-spectrum resistance in these lines. The semi-dwarf, high yielding and blast resistant lines generated herein are potential candidates for release as cultivars for overcoming losses in Ranbir Basmati due to lodging and blast disease.

Utilization of Molecular Markers for Rice Breeding

Rice is the staple food for more than half of the world's population. Rice production in 2050 must increase by at least 50% to keep up with the population growth. Efforts to increase rice production continue using various strategies. Breeders apply multiple approaches including application of molecular markers in developing varieties better than the previous ones. Since the discovery of the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) markers in 1980s and the development of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method, many types of molecular markers have been developed and applied to various crops including rice. Various molecular approaches to map genetic loci associated with rice superior traits were conducted. The mapped loci are very useful for rice breeding purposes. This paper reports the results of mapping and breeding economically important traits in rice, mainly those related to abiotic stresses, agronomic traits, yield, and yield quality. These included characters of semidwarf stature, aromatic grain, high yield potential, eating quality, higher Zn and Fe grain, more tolerant to abiotic stresses, such as salinity, drought, phosphate deficiency, Al toxicity and Fe toxicity, submergence, as well as early maturity character. The mapped characters can be transferred using marker-assisted backcrossing (MABC) method into cultivated rice genotypes well-adopted by farmers. Several countries including Indonesia have benefited from this breeding method, and Indonesia have released several rice varieties developed through MABC. These include rice varieties such as Code, Angke, Inpari 30, Inpari Blas, Inpari HDB, Bio Patenggang Agritan, and Bioni 63 Ciherang Agritan

NLR 3354 (Nellore Dhanyarasi): A short duration fine grain, blast tolerant rice culture for Andhra Pradesh

The culture NLR 3354 is a cross derivative of NLR 34242 x NLR 34303 which was released during 2019 by SVRC, Andhra Pradesh with 120-125 days duration, high yielding ability and better adaptability. This culture with semi dwarf stature has efficient tillering capacity, medium droopy panicles with highly acceptable plant characters and is a good replacement for the rice variety NLR 34449 due to its high grain yield and pest and disease tolerance ability. It possess tolerance to leaf and neck blast. It recorded an average yield of 6410 kg/ha over the check of 5799 kg/ha in different trials conducted for a period of 9 years. It produces good quality cooked rice besides high milling and head rice recovery. It produces medium slender white rice with intermediate amylose, soft gel consistency and moderate gelatinization temperature. It produces good quality cooked rice besides high milling and head rice recovery. Key wordsNLR 3354, short duration, rice variety  

Fine mapping of the BnUC2 locus related to leaf up-curling and plant semi-dwarfing in Brassica napus

BackgroundStudies of leaf shape development and plant stature have made important contributions to the fields of plant breeding and developmental biology. The optimization of leaf morphology and plant height to improve lodging resistance and photosynthetic efficiency, increase planting density and yield, and facilitate mechanized harvesting is a desirable goal in Brassica napus.ResultsHere, we investigated a B. napus germplasm resource exhibiting up-curled leaves and a semi-dwarf stature. In progeny populations derived from NJAU5737 and Zhongshuang 11 (ZS11), we found that the up-curled leaf trait was controlled by a dominant locus, BnUC2. We then fine mapped the BnUC2 locus onto an 83.19-kb interval on chromosome A05 using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. We further determined that BnUC2 was a major plant height QTL that explained approximately 70% of the phenotypic variation in two BC5F3 family populations derived from NJAU5737 and ZS11. This result implies that BnUC2 was also responsible for the observed semi-dwarf stature. The fine mapping interval of BnUC2 contained five genes, two of which, BnaA05g16700D (BnaA05.IAA2) and BnaA05g16720D, were revealed by comparative sequencing to be mutated in NJAU5737. This result suggests that the candidate gene mutation (BnaA05g16700D, encoding Aux/IAA2 proteins) in the conserved Degron motif GWPPV (P63S) was responsible for the BnUC2 locus. In addition, investigation of agronomic traits in a segregated population indicated that plant height, main inflorescence length, and branching height were significantly reduced by BnUC2, whereas yield was not significantly altered. The determination of the photosynthetic efficiency showed that the BnUC2 locus was beneficial to improve the photosynthetic efficiency. Our findings may provide an effective foundation for plant type breeding in B. napus.ConclusionsUsing SNP and SSR markers, a dominant locus (BnUC2) related to up-curled leaves and semi-dwarf stature in B. napus has been fine mapped onto an 83.19-kb interval of chromosome A05 containing five genes. The BnaA05.IAA2 is inferred to be the candidate gene responsible for the BnUC2 locus.

Molecular and Phenotypic Analyses of Inpari HDB/K15 F2 Lines Containing sd1 Mutant Gene Resulted from Genome Editing Method

<p>Inpari HDB variety is resistant to bacterial leaf blight (BLB) disease, but due to its tall stature, the variety is susceptible to lodging. Inpari HDB with semidwarf stature, therefore, is of high interest for lodging resistant performance. sd1 gene encoding GA20ox-2 enzyme is one of the genes responsible for imparting semidwarf stature of rice. In previous study, sd1 mutant rice cv. Kitaake (K15) was developed by using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. The objective of this study was to analyze molecularly and phenotypically F2 lines containing sd1 mutant gene resulted from a cross between Inpari HDB and K15 to develop semidwarf<br />Inpari HDB rice variety. Thirty F2 Inpari HDB/K15 lines were analyzed at molecular level using DNA sequencing method together with phenotypic assessment of the lines to verify the integration of sd1 mutant gene. DNA sequencing analysis showed that 9 out of the 30 F2 Inpari HDB/K15 lines were sd1 mutants. The remaining F2 lines contained 17 heterozygotes and 4 nonmutants. All the nine mutant lines demonstrated shorter plant stature and showed more tiller number per plant compared to the nonmutant lines. The sd1 mutant gene in the F2 lines showed pleiotropic effects on panicle number and<br />showed no effects on other traits, such as flowering time, panicle length, filled and unfilled grain percentages. This study showed the introduction of sd1 mutant gene generated semidwarf Inpari HDB lines. The semidwarf Inpari HDB lines obtained from this research should be further evaluated to confirm their lodging resistant performances.</p>

Integrating marker-assisted selection and doubled haploidy for rapid introgression of semi-dwarfing and blast resistance genes into a Basmati rice variety ‘Ranbir Basmati’

Ranbir Basmati, an early maturing pure line selection of traditional Basmati 370, is widely cultivated Basmati variety in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The variety is tall statured, prone to lodging and highly susceptible to rice blast. The present study was carried out for genetic improvement of Ranbir Basmati for semi dwarf stature and resistance to blast by introgressing semi-dwarfing gene, sd1, and blast resistance gene, Pi9 from an improved Basmati rice variety, Pusa Basmati 1637 (PB 1637).The selfed progenies of two superior BC2F1 recombinants of the cross Ranbir Basmati/PB 1637 showing maximum recovery of recurrent parent genome and phenome were analyzed with gene-based markers to select plants homozygous for both Pi9 and sd1. These plants were processed via anther culture to produce homozygous doubled haploid (DH) lines. All the anther culture derived DH plants were short-statured compared to Ranbir Basmati and exhibited high level of resistance to blast. The analysis of yield and its component traits revealed the presence of superior transgressive segregants for various traits namely, effective tillers, grains per panicle and yield per plant. Combined use of marker-assisted selection and anther culture ensured speedy conversion of Ranbir Basmati into semi-dwarf genotypes with in-built resistance to rice blast. The study demonstrated the utility of anther culture as an adjunct to marker-assisted backcross breeding schemes for instant elimination of the residual background heterozygosity of the selected recombinants.

The Role of Dwarfing Traits in Historical and Modern Agriculture with a Focus on Rice.

Semidwarf stature is a valuable agronomic trait in grain crops that reduces lodging and increases harvest index. A fundamental advance during the 1960s Green Revolution was the introduction of semidwarf cultivars of rice and wheat. Essentially, all semidwarf varieties of rice under cultivation today owe their diminished stature to a specific null mutation in the gibberellic acid (GA) biosynthesis gene, SD1 However, it is now well-established that, in addition to GAs, brassinosteroids and strigolactones also control plant height. In this review, we describe the synthesis and signaling pathways of these three hormones as understood in rice and discuss the mutants and transgenics in these pathways that confer semidwarfism and other valuable architectural traits. We propose that such genes offer underexploited opportunities for broadening the genetic basis and germplasm in semidwarf rice breeding.

An auxin signaling gene BnaA3.IAA7 contributes to improved plant architecture and yield heterosis in rapeseed.

Plant architecture is the key factor affecting overall yield in many crops. The genetic basis underlying plant architecture in rapeseed (Brassica napus), a key global oil crop, is elusive. We characterized an ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS)-mutagenized rapeseed mutant, sca, which had multiple phenotypic alterations, including crinkled leaves, semi-dwarf stature, narrow branch angles and upward-standing siliques. We identified the underlying gene, which encodes an Aux/IAA protein (BnaA3.IAA7). A G-to-A mutation changed the glycine at the 84th position to glutamic acid (G84E), disrupting the conserved degron motif GWPPV and reducing the affinity between BnaA3.IAA7 and TIR1 (TRANSPORT INHIBITOR RESPONSE 1) in an auxin dosage-dependent manner. This change repressed the degradation of BnaA3.IAA7 and therefore repressed auxin signaling at low levels of auxin that reduced the length of internodes. The G84E mutation reduced branch angles by enhancing the gravitropic response. The heterozygote +/sca closely resembled a proposed ideal plant architecture, displaying strong yield heterosis through single-locus overdominance by improving multiple component traits. Our findings demonstrate that a weak gain-of-function mutation in BnaA3.IAA7 contributes to yield heterosis by improving plant architecture and would be valuable for breeding superior rapeseed hybrid cultivars and such a mutation may increase the yield in other Brassica crops.

TNAU Rice CO 51 (IET 21605)-A high yielding short duration fine grain rice variety for Tamil Nadu

Early duration rice culture CB 06535,aderivative of the cross ADT 43 / RR 272 -1745wasreleased as TNAU Rice CO 51 during the year 2013 as an alternate variety to ADT 43 with 105 -110 days duration with additional desirable features like high yield, physiological efficiency and better adaptability. This culture with semi dwarf stature has efficient tillering capacity, long droopy panicles with highly acceptable plant characters and is a good replacement for the rice variety ADT 43 due to its high grain yield and pest and disease resistance. In the overall performance, the culture, CB 06 535 recorded a mean productivity of 6623 kg/ha in seven years of trials with 10.72 per cent increase over ADT 43. At Nallampalli, Dharmapuri district, the culture has recorded the highest yield of 11,377 kg/ha among the trials conducted, demonstrating the highest yield potential of this variety. The culture CB 06 535 is moderately resistant to blast, BPH and GLH under artificial condition. It produces medium slender white rice with intermediate amylose, soft gel consistency and moderate gelatinization temperature. It produces good quality cooked rice besides high milling and head rice recovery. CB 06 535 with higher yield, better pest and disease resistance and good cooking quality in comparison to the check ADT 43 is suitable for cultivation during Kar/ Kuruvai/Sornavari/Navaraiand the seasons / tracts wherever early maturing rice varieties are cultivated throughout Tamil Nadu.

Mapping of dwarfing gene Rht14 in durum wheat and its effect on seedling vigor, internode length and plant height

Short coleoptiles associated with GA-insensitive Rht-1 alleles in wheat reduces yield due to poor seedling establishment under dry, or stubble-retained conditions. Hence there is a need for alternative dwarfing genes for wheat improvement programs. GA-sensitive dwarfing gene Rht14 confers semidwarf stature in wheat while retaining longer coleoptiles and early seedling vigor. Two RIL populations were used to identify the map position of Rht14 and to estimate its effect on plant height, coleoptile length, seedling shoot length, spike length and internode length. Rht14 on chromosome 6A was mapped in the genomic region 383–422 Mbp flanked by GA2oxA9 and wmc753 in a Bijaga Yellow/Castelporziano RIL population. Recombination events between Rht14 and GA2oxA9 in the RIL population indicated that Rht14 might not be allelic to GA2oxA9. The conserved DNA sequence of GA2oxA9 and its flanking region in Castelporziano also suggested that the point of mutation responsible for the Rht14 allele must be a few Mbp away from GA2oxA9. The dwarfing effects of Rht14 on plant height, internode length and seedling vigor were compared with those of Rht-B1b in an HI 8498/Castelporziano RIL population. Both genes significantly reduced plant height and internode length. Rht-B1b conferred a significant reduction in coleoptile length and seedling shoot length, whereas Rht14 reduced plant height, but not coleoptile and seedling shoot length. Therefore, Rht14 can be a used as an alternative to Rht-B1b for development of cultivars suitable for deeper sowing in dry environments and in conditions of conservation agriculture where crop residues are retained.

OsOFP19 modulates plant architecture by integrating the cell division pattern and brassinosteroid signaling.

Characterization of OVATE family proteins (OFPs) has revealed that they exert functions by interacting with different types of transcription factor. However, the molecular bases of these processes are poorly understood. Here, we report that OsOFP19 negatively modulates brassinosteroid (BR) response and integrates it with the cell division pattern to affect plant architecture, including grain shape, through interaction with both DWARF AND LOW-TILLERING (DLT) and Oryza sativa homeobox1 (OSH1). Overexpression of OsOFP19 caused a semi-dwarf stature with thicker leaves and stronger culms and roots, which result from an increase in cell layers in the sub-epidermal tissue. Further studies revealed that OsOFP19 interacts with OSH1, and that this interaction mutually enhances the transcriptional activity of these proteins and leads to a transition from anticlinal to periclinal cell division. Furthermore, DLT interacts with both OsOFP19 and OSH1 and acts as an antagonist in the two interactions. Therefore, OsOFP19, OSH1 and DLT form a functional complex which plays a pivotal role in modulating BR signaling and determining the cell division pattern during plant growth and development.

Top Bending Panicle1 is involved in brassinosteroid signaling and regulates the plant architecture in rice

Brassinosteroids (BRs) regulate several aspects of plant growth and development. Although extensive studies have shown that BR signaling is conservative in higher plants, the molecular mechanism of regulating plant architecture in rice still remains to be explored. Here, we characterized a rice mutant named top bending panicle1 (tbp1). Compared to wild type, tbp1 mutant plants displayed semi-dwarf stature, erect leaves, small and round grains, as well as more tillers. Remarkably, the panicles of tbp1 plants were shorter and denser, and the tops of the panicles were curved by rolling of the base of flag leaves, which was later verified as due to reduced bulliform cell numbers. Map-based cloning, together with transgenic complementation and RNA-interference tests, revealed that TBP1 is a member of the somatic embryogenesis receptor kinases (SERKs) family involved in BR signaling. Furthermore, bimolecular fluorescence complementation and co-immunoprecipitation analysis demonstrated that a substitution at 61st amino acid (His61Leu) in the tbp1 mutant may result in a reduction of the interaction between TBP1 and OsBRI1 (BR receptor in rice). Taken together, our results demonstrate that TBP1 plays a significant role in regulating plant architecture via the brassinosteroid signaling pathway.

Rice OVATE family protein 6 regulates plant development and confers resistance to drought and cold stresses.

OVATE family proteins (OFPs) regulate multiple aspects of plant growth and development; however, their roles in responses to abiotic stresses have not yet been studied. Here, we report that rice OsOFP6 regulates growth and development, and alters responses to drought and cold stresses. OsOFP6 is expressed in various tissues and developmental stages. Knock-down of OsOFP6 by RNA interference (RNAi) resulted in semi-dwarf stature, altered grain shape, and shorter lateral roots. OsOFP6 was shown to interfere with auxin in regulating lateral root growth and initiation, as RNAi plants had increased density of lateral roots under IAA (indole-3-acetic acid) treatment. OsOFP6 also affects polar auxin transport, which was demonstrated by the different responses of RNAi and OsOFP6-overexpression (OE) plants to treatment with N-1-naphthylphalamic acid (NPA). Furthermore, under drought conditions OE lines showed slower water loss and less accumulation of H2O2 compared with RNAi plants, which displayed faster water loss and higher H2O2, implying that OsOFP6 may confer both drought avoidance and drought tolerance in rice plants. In addition, under cold treatment OE and RNAi plants exhibited lower and higher relative electrical conductivity (REC), respectively, suggesting an important role of OsOFP6 in response to cold stress. These results provide new insights into the multiple functions of OVATE family proteins.

Registration of 01Ab9663 Spring Malting Barley Germplasm

Enlarging genetic pools of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) germplasm is important for keeping diverse genetic resources available for barley improvement. 01Ab9663 (Reg. No. GP‐209; PI 677387) is a six‐rowed elite line from the cross 93Ab375//92Ab5189/M83. 93Ab375 was derived from the cross Russell/82Ab2322//‘Morex’, and 92Ab5189 was the result of the cross 83Ab5432/85SR40. 01Ab9663 was advanced via the bulk method from the F2 to F5 generations. 01Ab9663 exhibited a 126 and 105% yield advantage over ‘Morex’ and ‘Tradition’, respectively, within 37 locations years of testing in our irrigated trials. It showed on average 81.8% malt extract, significantly higher than all the checks from 21 trials. 01Ab9663 has a semidwarf stature with strong straw, a desirable trait for lodging resistance. These excellent character traits make 01Ab9663 a good choice for germplasm development of future malt and feed lines.

AAC NRG097 Canada Western Special Purpose Spring Wheat

AAC NRG097, a hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), was developed at the Swift Current Research and Development Centre of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, in Swift Current, SK. AAC NRG097 has grain yield and time to maturity within the range of the checks, a semidwarf stature, and heavier seed mass than the checks. It expressed resistance to prevalent races of both leaf rust and common bunt, while expressing an intermediate level of resistance to Fusarium head blight. It received registration no. 7567 from the Variety Registration Office, Plant Production Division, Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on 24 July 2014. AAC NRG097 was granted Plant Breeders’ Rights Certificate no. 5089 by the Plant Breeders’ Rights Office, CFIA on 7 Aug. 2015. It is eligible for grades of Canada Western Special Purpose.

Rice MDU 6: A high yielding long slender grain variety

A short duration, high yielding, long slender grain rice culture, ACM 01010 was developed from Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai and was released as Rice MDU 6 during 2015. ACM 01010 is a derivative of MDU5/ACM 96136. It has semi dwarf stature (95–105 cm), high tillering capacity, white long slender grain with superior grain quality. It matures in 110–115 days and it is suitable for short duration rice growing areas. This culture recorded a mean grain yield of 6118 kg/ha (9.7 per cent and 10.2 per cent increased yield over the checks, ADT 43 and ADT (R) 45 respectively) in different yield trials including MLTs and ARTs. In ART, this culture registered more than 7000 kg/ha in 29 locations out of 160 locations tested. The culture, ACM 01010, is moderately resistant to leaffolder, stem borer, GLH and WBPH under field conditions. It possesses intermediate amylose content, gelatinization temperature and soft gel consistency. It produces white long slender rice with desirable cooking quality. As raw rice, it is highly suitable for making pongal and variety rice besides it is also suitable for aval (flaked rice) and pori (parched paddy) making.