CROSSABILITY OF NERICAs (New Rice for Africa)

Complete hybrid sterility has been the major hindrance for combining desirable traits of the two cultivated rice species Oryza glaberrima and Oryza sativa. AfricaRice scientists used biotechnological interventions to overcome this sterility leading to the development of NERICAs. The NERICAs are variable giving a large gene pool from which desirable characteristics can also be combined into a desirable plant type. Will crossing two NERICAs also result to complete hybrid sterility? A study was set up to investigate the crossability of some selected upland NERICAs. Though there wasn’t complete hybrid sterility in the selected NERICAs, crossability was variable depending on the type of cytoplasm and cytoplasm nucleus interactions.