Developing Pusa 5A, a stable indica CMS line with high outcrossing potential

From available germplasm and breeding lines at IARI, we have identified Pusa 150-2, a maintainer with excellent agronomic traits. Pusa 150-2 is a high-yielding semidwarf indica variety with excellent grain quality. When test-crossed with IR58025A, it produced F1 progeny with 100% pollen sterility. The F1 progeny was backcrossed to Pusa 150-2 and a population of approximately 750 BC1 plants was raised. All plants showed 100% pollen sterility under the microscope but segregated for various agronomic characters. Thirty plants showing characters comparable with those of Pusa 150-2 were backcrossed. All the progenies were 100% sterile.