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May 1, 2009
Source: Plant Breeding News*,
Edition 200
Contributed by
Katherine Steele, CAZS Natural Resources,
Bangor University
A novel upland rice variety, Birsa Vikas Dhan 111 (PY 84),
has recently been released in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It
was bred using marker-assisted backcrossing with selection for
multiple quantitative trait loci (QTL) for improved root growth
to improve its performance under drought conditions. It is an
early maturing, drought tolerant and high yielding variety with
good grain quality suitable for the direct seeded uplands and
transplanted medium lands of Eastern India.
It is the first example of a rice variety bred through the
combined use of marker-assisted selection and client-oriented
breeding, and a rare success story for the use of
marker-assisted selection to improve a quantitative trait. It
out-yields the recurrent parent by 10% under rainfed conditions.
The variety was developed in a collaborative partnership between
CAZS Natural Resources,
Bangor University, UK;
Gramin Vikas Trust, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India and
Birsa Agricultural
University (BAU), Ranchi, Jharkhand, India. The target QTL
were first identified by Adam Price (now at Aberdeen University,
UK) and Birgitte Courtois (CIRAD, France /IRRI, Philippines).
Three genomic regions carrying root growth QTL on chromosomes 2
(root length), 9 (root thickness) and 11 (root penetration) were
transferred from the donor Philippines variety Azucena into the
recurrent parent Kalinga III. Selected backcrossed lines were
crossed to pyramid the QTL. Selection was made in early
generations using RFLPs and in later generations using
microsatellite markers flanking QTL on chromosomes 2
(RM221-RM213), 9 (RM242-RM201) and 11 (RM229-RM206). The maximum
length of an introgressed region was 40 cm on chromosome 2.
Background selection was made for Kalinga III alleles on target
chromosomes but it was not complete across all other
chromosomes.
Selection for phenotypic performance was made in the target
environment of farmers’ fields in Jharkhand, Orissa and West
Bengal from 2001 and in low-fertility soil of GVT-BAU Research
Farm, Ranchi.
The release of Birsa Vikas Dhan 111 has paved the way for
certified seed production in the state of Jharkhand.
Jharkhand has a population of over 21 million people of whom 44%
live in poverty. Rice is the staple food. About 46% of rice land
is classified as rainfed upland where rice is grown by the
small, resource-poor farmers (most have less than 2 ha of land)
who are primarily dependent on agriculture and migrant work. Low
and erratic rainfall cause frequent droughts across the region.
*
Plant Breeding News
An Electronic
Newsletter of Applied Plant Breeding
Clair H. Hershey, Editor
Sponsored by
FAO/AGPC and Cornell University,
Dept. of Plant Breeding and Genetics |
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