Conventional and Molecular Breeding for Abiotic Stresses Tolerance in Rice

Abstract

Abstract
Abiotic stress as a consequence of climate change has affected a large proportion of the rice growing areas of the world. Drought is a complex trait and breeding for drought tolerance requires incorporation of morphological, physiological and several biochemical characters imparting in tolerance. Rice is a salt sensitive crop and excessive saline or sodic soil has a limiting effect on its productivity. Genotypic variation for abiotic stress has been observed in diverse range of rice germplasm including its wild relatives and this variability has been targeted by the breeders in developing stressresistant cultivars. Marker breeding has further opened the scope for quantitative trait loci (QTL) identification and mapping and by the help of maker-assisted back crossing (MABC), it could be transferred in several mega varieties of rice. Sub-1 a major QTL for submergence tolerance is introgressed in several Indica varieties of India and presently in farmer’s field. In the future there is also need for breeding for high phosphorous efficient varieties and subsequently also need to develop suitable rice varieties for heavy metal contaminated soils.

Key words: Abiotic stresses, rice, drought, salinity, submergence