Developing Early Morning Flowering Version of Rice Variety CO 51 to Mitigate the Heat-Induced Yield Loss

By 2050, the rice production needs to be increased by at least 50% in order meet growing food demands of global population. Among various yield limiting factors, high temperature is fast becoming a major threat sustain yields due its frequency occurrence and severity stress events. The development heat-resilient cultivars has been slow lack relevant donors for heat tolerance traits limited information regarding genetic basis these component traits. early morning flowering (EMF) trait, contributing escape promoting flowering/anthesis during cooler hours demonstrated offer protection against high-temperature-induced failure pollination fertilization. In this study, evaluation CO 51, IR64 IR64-qEMF3 (NIL harboring QTL EMF revealed that qEMF3 promoted (1½ 2 h earlier than IR64) thereby reduced sterility about 8.15%. Attempts through marker-assisted backcross breeding led advanced progenies (NILs) qEMF3. Evaluation 88 BC3F2 identified 19 under homozygous conditions. NILs 51 summer 2019 exhibited (7.30 a.m.) onset anthesis 1½ completed peak well around (9.30 day recorded spikelet (7.8–9.0%) their recurrent parent (19.2%). current study clearly efficacy mitigation losses high-temperature conditions farmer preferred variety.