Heterosis breeding for grain yield and quality traits in rice

Rice is the most important staple food for more than half of the world’s population. Among the available innovative and immediately adoptable technologies, hybrid rice technology offers an opportunity to enhance rice production and productivity and thereby ensure a steady supply of food as per projection made for 2025. Hybrids rice have 15-20% yield advantage over high yielding semi dwarf rice varieties. Future food security of major rice growing countries lies in the development of hybrid rice varieties which has potential to increase production and productivity with good grain quality. To achieve targeted food production of increasing population as well as deceasing cultivated area, hybrid rice technology is very useful. The success of future hybrid rice programme depends upon identification of parents having good combining ability with higher magnitude of heterosis and good restorer and maintainer capabilities. Assessment and maintenance of genetic purity of varieties and hybrids are crucial for the productivity and quality imparted by breeders. Molecular marker technology offers fast and accurate genetic purity test of varieties and hybrid.