Electronic Journal of Plant Breeding

An investigation was carried out in rice (Oryza sativa L.) in line × tester mating design utilizing five lines (ADT 43, BPT 5204, CO (R) 50, ADT 39 and I.W. Ponni) and four testers (TRY (R) 2, FL 478, CSR 23 and CO 43). The estimates of combining ability variances revealed that preponderance of non additive gene action governing all the traits under sodicity. Based on per se performance and gca effects, ADT 43, CO (R) 50, I.W. Ponni, TRY (R) 2 and FL 478 were considered as good general combiners for days to 50 per cent flowering, plant height, number of productive tillers per plant, spikelet fertility, 100 grain weight, single plant yield and Na⁺: K⁺ ratio under sodicity. I.W. Ponni × FL 478 cross whose parents were good combiners for most of the traits studied and additive and governed by additive x additive types of gene action. Hence, simple pedigree method of breeding could be employed as an ideal approach to get superior transgressive segregants in the segregating generations.