Marker-assisted development of an extra-long grain and high yielding basmati rice line with semi-erect and dense panicles

In light of the rapidly growing global population, there is an urgent need to develop high-yielding and climate -resilient rice varieties. The productivity of traditional basmati cultivars is limiting due to region-specific cultivation, and genetic improvements are direly needed to enhance their productivity without compromising quality attributes. This study aimed to develop high yielding basmati advance line with good quality attributes through a marker-assisted selection approach. A cross was attempted between Basmati 515 and IRBB 66, followed by pedigree selection up to the F5 generation. A uniform recombinant inbred line was identified then backcrossed with PK 1121 Aromatic and again followed by pedigree selection up to BC3F5 for desirable genotype development. Genes pyramiding for aroma (BADEX7-5), dense and erect panicles (DEP1), grain length (FMGS-7) and grain width (GW8-indel) were achieved using gene-linked markers. The identified line "BLB 18-5001", predominately harbored agronomic and quality characteristics of Basmati 515, panicle architecture, and grain dimension traits of IRBB 66 and PK 1121 Aromatic, respectively. The BLB 18-5001 outperformed in thousand -grain weight (28.5 g), grain yield (4.7 t ha-1), average grain length (9.22 mm), and cooked grain length (19.5 mm) compared to parents. A two-year field evaluation revealed superior agronomic and quality attributes of BLB 18-5001, suggesting an unprecedented genetic potential to meet future varietal demands. This study concludes that the BLB 18-5001 line has overcome the negative correlation between grain quality and yield to some extent and is expected to serve as a valuable breeding source to improve basmati productivity to meet the growing demand for food.