Correlation and path analysis of yield and yield components in transplanted rice

The association among yield components, their direct and indirect influence on grain yield was investigated in 47 genotypes of rice including 16 local basmati varieties and 31 high yielding varieties/advanced lines under two sowing dates. Grain yield plant-1 had significant positive association with grain yield panicle-1, harvest index, filled grains panicle-1, biological yield plant-1, primary branch number panicle-1, productive tillers plant-1 and secondary branch number panicle-1 in both the environments. Path coefficient analysis revealed that grain yield panicle-1 had the highest direct effect on grain yield plant-1 in both the environments, followed by harvest index, biological yield plant-1 and productive tillers plant-1, suggesting that the improvement in grain yield could be efficient, if the selection is based on these component characters.