Evaluation and grouping of rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes of Central and West Asia using agronomic traits and grain yield

Rice is the staple food of half of the world's population and one of the most important crops in Central and West Asia. To assess variation in some important agronomic traits and grouping of rice genotypes, this study was performed and 49 genotypes from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Iraq, and Uzbekistan along with 7 genotypes from Iran were evaluated using randomized complete block design with three replications in 2019 and 2020 cropping season in experimental field of Rice Research Institute of Iran, in Rasht, Iran. Analysis of variance showed genotypes were significantly different for all studied traits. Genotype × year interaction effect was not significant for any of the studied traits. The lowest grain yield (2.2 t.ha-1) belonged to BT7 cultivar (Iraq) and the highest grain yield (7.4 t ha-1) belonged to Mishkab2 (Iraq). The shortest plant height (79.3 cm) belonged to QazNIIR-7 (Kazakhstan) and the highest plant height (149.8 cm) recorded for Avanqard (Azerbaijan). Marjan cultivar (Kazakhstan) was the earliest maturity among the studied rice genotypes with 100 days to physiological maturity (after seeding). Correlation studybetween traits indicated negative correlation between grain yield and flag leaf length. Cluster analysis grouped the studied genotypes into seven distinct groups. In general, the existence of high diversity for agronomic traits and grain yield in the studied genotypes showed that this set of germplasm has the potential for to be used in the national rice breeding programs to improve Iranian rice cultivars.