Evaluation of M6 Ofada Rice Mutant Selections and Parents for Grain Physico-Chemical and Nutritional Characters
Abstract
Rice consumers are becoming more conscious of the varieties they consume in terms of nutritional quality. Selection for quality improvement would benefit from induced variability as innate sources are becoming exhausted. This study was carried out to assess the extent of improvement of rice grain quality yield for the benefit of the farmers and the consumers. Two Ofada rice varieties (FUNAABOR 1 and FUNAABOR 2) were irradiated with 60Co gamma rays to elicit variation towards selection for grain improvement in 2013. Individual seed selections from different treatment levels in M1 and subsequent generations were harvested and replanted for advancement to M6 generation. Harvested seeds from selected promising M6 mutants and parents were subjected to physical, chemical and nutritional analysis. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was applied to data to generate character overall mean and variance estimates from which heritability estimates were computed. Means of the different mutants were compared with parents using Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT). Ofada rice mutants and parents varied significantly for all the studied grain traits. The mutants and parents had long grains (6.6mm - 7.1mm). Mutant, OG13602 _100 had high values for amylose content (20.01%), followed by OG13608_300 (19.47%). The two mutants (OG13602_100 and OG13608_300) respectively also recorded the highest values for crude protein (6.41% and 6.28%), fat (3.94% and 3.81%), fibre (2.14% and 2.05%), and ash content (3.92% and 3.71%). Overall, the entries clustered into two groups along the parental lines and present opportunities for hybridization. High heritability with concomitant high genetic advance was recorded for amylose, ash and moisture content. All selected promising Ofada rice mutants and parents had long grains. Specifically, mutants OG13602_100 and OG13608_300 which expressed superior amylose, protein, fat, fibre and ash contents present opportunities for further improvement for grain quality. The significant variability of the studied traits revealed additional gains from further selection.
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