Detection of epistasis and gene effects for quality and yield traits in rice

Scaling test and generation mean analysis were employed to detect epistatasis and gene actions in four crosses of rice for six yield and quality traits. Dominant gene effect was more important than additive in the inheritance of number of effective tillers per plant, alkali digestion value and volume expansion. Number of grains panicle1 and water uptake number were mostly controlled by additive gene effect epistatic gene effects namely, additive x additive (j) and dominance x dominance (l) were more pronounced for most of the characters except number of effective tillers plant−1. Heterosis for yield plant−1 and number of grains panicle−1 were considerably high. It was 71 per cent for grain in the cross MPR 71 x IT 1443. The cross Pusa Basmati 1 x NDR 359 exhibited highest heterosis (79%) for number of grains panicle−1 with low inbreeding depression. In general inbreeding depression in four crosses over the traits ranged from -23.58 to 14.28 per cent for number of grains panicle−1 and alkali digestion value, respectively.