Analysis of genotype x environment interaction effects for starch pasting viscosity characteristics in Indica rice

Milled rice (Oryza sativa L.) is composed of approximately 90% starch. The properties of starch have considerable effects on cooked rice palatability and consumer acceptability. Starch pasting viscosity parameters serve as important indices in the estimation of eating, cooking, and processing qualities of rice. In the present study, four cytoplasmic male-sterile (CMS) lines and eight restorer (R) lines have been used in an incomplete diallel cross to analyze seed effects, cytoplasmic effects, maternal gene effects, and their genotype x environment (GE) effects on the following starch pasting viscosity parameters: breakdown (BD), consistency (CS), and setback (SB). The results demonstrated that the total main genetic variances (V(G)) accounted for over 64% of the total genetic variance (V(G) +V(GE)) for the three traits, indicating that these traits were mainly controlled by the main genetic effects in addition to the GE interaction effects. The estimated total narrow-sense heritability were 67.8%, 79.5%, and 79.5% for BD, CS, and SB, respectively. The general heritability (h(2)(G)) accounted for over 75% of the total heritability (h(2)(G) +h(2)(GE)), indicating that early selection would be effective for those traits and the selection efficiencies were relatively stable in different environments.