Salt Tolerant Rice Lines Developed for Mekong Delta

Breeding salt tolerant rice varieties for production in the Mekong Delta is highly helpful to adapt to the increase of salinity intrusion in this region due to the climate change. From this demand, Vietnamese researchers conducted a study using Pokkali, a highly salt-tolerant rice variety as the donor of the salt tolerance gene, which is transferred to the two rice varieties possessing the high yield and good grain quality by the backcrossing method.

As a result, the BC3F3 lines were selected, including 16 lines of the cross combination, OM231/Pokkali and 20 lines of the cross combination, OM231/Pokkali for evaluating the salinity tolerance ability in the solution medium containing salt (NaCl) at the concentration of 4%; and at the same time, for identifying the presence of the salt tolerance gene in these lines by SSR marker analysis, using the primer RM1267. Based on the results, 10 salt tolerant lines were identified, of which 2 lines, namely, D4 and D11 from OM231/Pokkali, and three lines, namely, D22, D24 and D33 from OM238/Pokkali possessed good agronomic traits and grain quality with low amylose contents (<20%) in particular. These lines will be advanced for consecutive selections to develop the salt toletant varieties with a potential of application in production.

For more information, read the article in Vietnamese in the Journal of Agriculture and Development.