Since rice is a staple food for half the world’s population, there is a need to increase rice yields.  Increasing the number of seeds and the number of branches on the rice panicle (seed head) through breeding is a means of accomplishing this.  The majority of rice grown in the United States is from the Japonica rice subspecies which is difficult to cross with the other major subspecies, Indica, because of seed sterility problems.  Having rice germplasm available in the Japonica genetic background that possesses greater panicle branching and higher seed production will help U.S. rice breeders develop new cultivars with higher yield. Two Japonica germplasm lines, SC14_166 (GP-148, PI 698103) and SC14_072 (GP-147, PI 698102) have been released and are available for improving medium grain and long grain market classes of rice. The SC14_072, a long grain germplasm line, has at least two major genes associated with increased grain length that is a highly desired trait in the long grain market. The SC14_166, a medium grain germplasm line, possesses genes which increase the number of seed produced on the panicle. In addition, DNA markers were developed which are linked to these desired traits and will facilitate breeding efforts to improve yield and grain size in tropical japonica-based breeding programs.

Images of the panicles and kernels of the germplasm lines SC14_072 and SC14_166, and the parents, Estrela and NSFTV199, that they were derived from.