Morphological traits for identification of rice hybrid CORH3 and ITS parental lines in grow out test

The genetic purity is one of the most important characteristics for quality control of seed. The present study was aimed at characterization of morphological traits for identification of rice hybrid CORH3 and its parental lines viz., TNAU CMS 2A, CB87R and TNAU CMS 2B in grow out test (GOT) plot. The thirty two morphological traits including qualitative and quantitative characters recorded from four hundred plants individually in the four rice genotypes as per the National Test Guidelines for distinctiveness, uniformity and stability (DUS) testing. Out of 32 morphological observations variations were observed only in 16 morphological traits like pubescence of leaf blade surface, attitude of flag leaf blade at late observation, panicle curvature of main axis, panicle attitude of branches, panicle exertion, length of leaf blade, width of leaf blade, days to 50 per cent flowering and maturity, length of main axis of panicle, stem length, panicle number per plant and seed traits such as 1000 grain weight, grain length and width were found to be more useful for characterization of genotypes and also these characters can very well be used for identification of off types in GOT field.