Enormous genetic diversity exists in rice germplasm, including wild and weedy relatives, though they remain unexplored within in situ or ex situ collections. Characterisation and utilisation of the available biodiversity in plant breeding is essential for the detection of novel traits or genes for climate resilience. In this study, 97 rice genotypes, including 90 rice accessions belonging to various Oryza species and 7 check cultivars with an O. sativa background, were characterised for quantitative morphological characters following the guidelines based on distinctiveness, uniformity and stability (DUS) test by the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPVFRA), India. Characterisation of the genotypes based on 39 important DUS morphological descriptors revealed polymorphism in 35 traits, confirming high morphological diversity among wild rice accessions and distinguishing and unique traits from other wild accessions for the utilisation in pre-breeding programmes. Genotypes such as WD5₆, WD10₄, and WD3₃ consistently expressed a favourable combination of broad and long leaves, extended panicle length, and well-branched panicles with higher panicle number. In addition, these genotypes showed purple pigmentation across multiple vegetative and reproductive organs, indicating stable and enhanced anthocyanin accumulation. Accessions WD10₄ and WD3₃ also represent valuable donors for panicle architecture and yield component enhancement, while genotypes such as WD17₁5 and WD12₈ may serve as specific donors for panicle length and branching traits. Characterisation studies and detection of unique traits provide the empirical foundation for conservation decisions, taxonomic clarity, and pre-breeding applications. Interspecific crosses in the genetic background of elite cultivars with donor species viz. , O. barthii, O. glaberrima and O. rufipogon were developed as pre-breeding materials for further crop improvement as well as for the identification of novel genes of agronomic importance.
Senthilkumar et al. (Mon,) studied this question.