Combining Ability Analysis for Salt Tolerance in Rice (Oryza sativa L.) under Costal Salt Affected Soil

Combining ability analysis in rice carried out during kharif, 2011–12 under coastal salt affected soil at Costal Soil Salinity Research Station, Danti, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat. The experiment including 4 x 12 (line x tester) crossing programme was conducted for investigate the general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability analysis (SCA) for the various traits. The general combining ability effect enables to the identification of desirable male and female parents. Parent, IET-18710 as found to be good general combiner for most of the traits viz., grain per panicle, productive tillers per hill, grain yield per plant, straw yield per plant, days to maturity and harvest index. Specific combining ability, hybrids viz., Jaya x IET 18710, NAUR 1 x IR 71829, IET 15429 x IET 18710 and NAUR 1 x IET 18710 were found to be the most promising for grain yield, its component traits under costal salinity. Those crosses were found to involve at least one parent with high GCA effect and other parents having either high or low GCA effect indicating the involvement of additive as well as non-additive gene action operating in these crosses. The preponderance of non additive gene action, presence of substantial degree of sca effects for grain yield and other component characters favoured a hybrid breeding programme in rice.