CIRAD/CIAT Rice project: Population improvement and obtaining rice lines for the savannah ecosystem

Since 1996, following recommendations by the Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT), the joint project on rice improvement between CIAT and the "Centre de cooperation internacionale en recherche agronornique pour le developpement" (CIRAD) is phasing out conventional breeding through intraspecific crosses. It will now concentrate on broadening the crop's genetic base. New breeding strategies include developing upland rice populations with broad genetic bases and their improvement through recurrent selection. Use of a recessive male-sterile gene facilitates developing rice populations for different ecosystems and specific sites. In Colombia, upland rice populations were improved through two recurrent selection methods, with fertile plants being selected at each stage to develop lines through the pedigree method. The most advanced lines are being evaluated for yield in cooperation with the Corporacion Colombiana de Investigacion Agropecuaria (CORPOICA). The project expects to continue developing and improving populations, to develop and evaluate lines from these populations, and to share them with national upland rice programs in the region. (Resume d'auteur)