Participatory varietal selection for promising rice lines

The purpose of rice breeding is to create varieties that are well adapted, highly productive, and acceptable to farmers. However, rice productivity is limited as a result of combined biotic stresses (pests/diseases). This study combines assessment by farmers with the evaluation by breeders with respect to promising rice lines within a range of environments. The aim is to investigate farmers’ preferences and to characterize the yield of promising rice lines, as well as their resistance to pests/diseases by consulting 120 farmers and breeders. This study used an oversite design replicated three times with thirteen promising lines and two varieties, which were all evaluated at farmers’ fields between December 2019 and May 2020. The Importance Performance Analysis was used to compare line performance and farmers’ expectations. Lines Gamapadi-2 and Gamapadi-4 had the highest acceptability scores based on the farmers’ preferences. The yield performances were evaluated using the Finlay–Wilkinson test and the genotypes were evaluated using environmental models (GGE biplot) to determine the most stable lines to be recommended for large-scale planting. The Finlay–Wilkinson and GGE biplot conclusion analyses also showed that the Gamapadi-2 and Gamapadi-4 lines exhibited high potential yield and stability, as well as indications of specific advantages. The results for both lines in all locations indicated no symptoms of damage caused by brown planthoppers or bacterial leaf blight. These lines in all age ranges at two sites showed no symptoms of leaf blast. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.