Thirty-five traditional rice cultivars from 4 districts of Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Hazaribagh district of Bihar were evaluated and characterized for 12 agro-morphological traits and high density grain index during 1996 wet season. A large variation was observed for the characters studied. High coefficients of variation was recorded for high density grain index, spikelets/panicle, secondary branches/panicle, panicle weight, and grain weight. Accession Karni (HRC 318) and Jhalore 1 (HRC 336) had extra long kernels (> 7.5 mm); of the two, former showed L:B ratio more than 3.0. High-density grain index was high in Madrasi (HRC 331), Katika (HRC 326), and Tilakchandan-2 (HRC 325). Several accessions were identified as potential donors for improving yield and quality. Of these 9 accessions possessed multiple desirable traits.
Rice, high density grain index, rainfed ecosystem, germplasm characterization
