~ 2689 ~ Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 2021; 10(1): 2689-2693 E-ISSN: 2278-4136 P-ISSN: 2349-8234 www.phytojournal.com JPP 2021; 10(1): 2689-2693 Received: 09-10-2020 Accepted: 07-12-2020 Kalpataru Nanda Department of Plant Breeding & Genetics, O.U.A.T, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India Dr. DN Bastia Professor, Department of Plant Breeding & Genetics, O.U.A.T, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India Ashutosh Nanda Department of Bioinformatics O.U.A.T, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India Corresponding Author: Kalpataru Nanda Department of Plant Breeding & Genetics, O.U.A.T, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India Genetic variability analysis for yield and grain quality characters in slender grain rice ( Oryza sativa L.) Kalpataru Nanda, Dr. DN Bastia and Ashutosh Nanda DOI: https://doi.org/10.22271/phyto.2021.v10.i1al.13764 Abstract Twenty-nine rice genotypes along with three checks were evaluated with an objective to determine the nature and magnitude of genetic variability for yield and grain quality characters. A study of the analysis of variance showed the presence of a high degree of genetic variability among the genotypes. Phenotypic coefficient of variance and Genotypic coefficient of variance were high for number of filled grains/panicle (23.99, 23.32) and moderate for flag leaf area (19.40, 18.21), grain yield (18.75, 17.82), 100-grain weight (13.47, 13.40), plant height (11.68, 11.21) and number of effective tillers/plant (13.98, 9.73). High heritability along with high genetic advance percentage over mean was observed for no. of filled grains per panicle, flag-leaf area, grain-yield, and 100-grain weight. Most of the genotypes had long-slender grain type with kernel-length ≥6 mm, L/B Ratio ≥3.0, and showed an intermediate range of amylose content, gelatinization temperature, and medium to soft gel consistency. Keywords: additive gene action, amylose content, gel consistency, gelatinization temperature, grain quality characters, slender-grain Introduction Rice is one of the major food grain crops in the world, particularly in Asian countries. The current rate of population growth of India (annually 1.09%) would set an annual requirement of rice of about 496 million tons by 2020 and 555 million tons by 2035. There is possibly little hope to allocate additional land for growing rice as the total cultivable area is diminishing day by day due to increased requirements for basic infrastructure like housing, roads; industry, etc. The yield breakthrough achieved through the introduction of semi-dwarf high-yielding rice varieties during the green revolution in the 1960s has now plateaued particularly in high productivity areas. Therefore, the task of increasing rice production to meet the anticipated demand is quite challenging. Traditionally, rice plant breeders mostly concentrated on breeding for high yield. In recent decades as the purchasing power of people has increased, demand for high-quality rice is continuously on the rise. Quality rice is not only in big demand for domestic consumption, but also have great export potential and can earn a lot of foreign exchange for the country. The milling percentage, hulling percentage, grain dimensions, and various cooking qualities such as gelatinization temperature, gel consistency, and amylose-content constitute the quality traits in rice. Grain length (L), breadth (B), and L/B ratio determine the shape of the grain or more popularly called grain type. The gelatinization temperature, gel consistency, and amylose- content are the major rice traits that are directly related to cooking and eating quality. The gel consistency is responsible for softness and amylose-content is responsible for texture and appearance in rice (Hossein Sabouri, 2009) [9] . Like grain yield, quality is also not easily amenable to selection due to its complex nature. Therefore, efforts to enhance rice productivity with keeping grain quality must receive top priority (Dhurai et al., 2014) [3] . Keeping in view of the above perspectives the present experiment was carried out to estimate the genetic variability parameters for various yield attributing traits and quality traits in rice. Materials and Methods The present experiment was carried out using 32 genotypes (including 3 check varieties) from the experimental materials of SYT (Slender Grain) at EB-1, Rice Research Station, O.U.A.T., Bhubaneswar during the 2016 Kharif season. The experimental materials were put in a Randomized Block Design with two replications. Observations were recorded for nine different yield-attributing metric traits as well as nine important grain quality traits.