Collection and Conservation of Cold Adapted Indigenous Rice Landraces from Western Ghats, South India

Efforts were made to collect and conserve cold adapted rice germplasm from parts of Western Ghats in South India which resulted in the augmentation of 56 accessions of rice germplasm. Majority of the landraces (38 accessions) were red kernelled and the germplasm varied significantly for grain and kernel traits viz., grain length (5.58–9.47 mm), grain breadth (2.2–3.79 mm), 100-seed weight (0.9–3.5 g), kernel length (3.72–6.63 mm), kernel breadth (2.4–3.0 mm) and kernel length/breadth ratio (1.67–2.67). Conservation strategies for these cold adapted landraces are also discussed.