introduction of new high yielding and good quality rice cultivar, fajr

introduction of high yielding as well as high quality rice cultivars is one of the most important activities at rice research institute of iran (rrii). in 1991, 210 rice lines introduced from international rice research institute (irri) to rice research institute of iran were evaluated in observational and statistical experiments in mazandaran for two years, and seven lines were selected. these lines had better performance in morphological characteristics, early maturity and yield than other lines. results of additional experiments showed that fajr cultivar was high yielding and stable in different environments of mazandaran province. this cultivar had medium maturity with average yield of 6.5t th-1. according to agronomic experiments, the best planting space for this cultivar was 20 20 and 14 30 cm for traditional and machinery transplanting, respectively. based on soil analysis and crop requirements, 115, 50 and 50 kgha-1 n, p2o5 and k2o are recommended, respectively. results revealed that this cultivar is similar to nemat and dasht cultivrs in response to diseases and pests, but it is much more tolerant to lodging. plant height and 1000-grain weight are about 108 cm and 24g, respectively. fajr is one of the most superior improved rice cultivars with a high cooking quality, which has ever been introduced to the farmers of mazadaran province since rrii establishment. due to high adaptability of this cultivar, its cultivation could be extended to other provinces like golestan, fars and khuzestan.