Analysis of Genetic Diversity in Some Rice Varieties and Their Performance in Bangladesh

This study was conducted to evaluate the genetic diversity for several rice features and their association with yields, as well as to identify genotypes of short-duration rice. The experiment was conducted in the field in a natural environment, and data were collected on several plant parameters for each genotype at various phases of plant development. Twenty genotypes of rice were examined based on their morphological and physiological characteristics. From July through December of 2020, the experiment was conducted at the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute's regional station in Shyampur, Rajshahi. There was significant diversity among the twenty rice genotypes for all characteristics tested. The genotype BRRI dhan57 displayed the shortest days to flowering. In terms of days to maturity, the genotype BRRI dhan57 was the earliest, with a maturity time of 107.33 days, followed by BRRI dhan56 and BRRI dhan39. The days to blooming had the highest heritability (99.75%), followed by the days to maturity (99.58%), grain yield (85.30%), thousand grain weight (85.22%), grains per panicle (84.91%), plant height (82.21%), and tillers per hill (21.61%). High heritability scores indicated that the researched qualities were less influenced by the surrounding environment. As a percentage of the mean, the genetic gain was greatest for grain yield (36.33%) and lowest for tillers per hill (6.60%) among the yield-contributing factors. In days to flowering, days to maturity, grains per panicle, and plant height, high heritability and genetic progress were seen. According to the principal component analysis (PCA), the Eigen values of the first four components of the total variance accounted for 89.46% of the total variance, indicating that these components were mostly responsible for the genetic diversity of the current materials. It was the largest cluster, containing seven rice genotypes. Clusters II and V contained five and four genotypes of rice, respectively. Clusters III and IV were the smallest, with only two genotypes apiece. The pattern of distribution of genotypes among various clusters demonstrated the significant genetic variety present in the genotypes, which may be the result of adaptation of these genotypes to certain environmental conditions. The largest value of intercluster distance indicated that cluster III genotypes were extremely distinct from cluster IV genotypes. Negative values in both vectors for tillers per hill suggested that this feature contributed the least to the total diversity. The number of panicles per hill, panicle length, weight per thousand grains, and grain yield were all positive in both directions. According to these statistics, these four characteristics contributed the most to the variety.