Evaluation of genotypic variation and suitability of rice bean genotypes for mid-altitudes of Meghalaya, India

In the North Eastern Hill Region of India, the shifting or jhum cultivation is practiced in 16.79 lac ha area and rice bean is an essential part of jhum. Increasing the productivity of jhum is one of the important management options to uplift the economies of farmers. Identification/development of early maturing, high yielding rice bean genotypes that may give stable yields, is the most important breeding objective in this region. Fifty two rice bean genotypes were evaluated in kharif seasons for three consecutive years to select suitable genotypes for cultivation in this region and identify suitable parents for hybridization programmes. Wide range of variability was observed for the characters studied. Grain yield was found to be positively correlated with all the characters except days to maturity. Two lines, IC 187911 and RCRB 1–3 with high grain yield/plant, average stability and predictable performance over three years, were identified as suitable for cultivation in the region. An analysis of the percentage contribution to genetic diversity revealed that 100-seed weight and pod yield/plant were the major contributing characters towards genetic diversity. Based on the diversity in clusters and their mean performances for various characters, probable parents were identified for developing high yielding and early maturing genotypes.