Participatory Evaluation of Thirty (30) New Rice (Oryza Sativa L.) Lines Developed from Anther Culture under Senegal River Valley Growing Conditions

Rice is one of the most widely used staple foods in the world. However, its production is still very limited compared to the exponentially growing demand. Senegal, with an average consumption of 90 kg/habitant, is the third largest importer of rice in Africa. Aware of the impact of imports on the population, Senegal has set itself the objective of achieving food self-sufficiency by 2022 with an average yield of 5 tonnes/ha. ISRA, through its research, contributes to the achievement of this objective by developing adapted technologies. It is within this framework that a participatory evaluation of 30 new anther culture lines was conducted at the ISRA research station in Fanaye during the hot dry season of 2020. Surveys were conducted among producers through guided tours, while observations and measurements were made to collect agro-morphological parameters and characteristics preferred by producers. The agronomic results analysed and combined with the surveys made it possible to select the 10 best performing varieties. Among these 10 best performing lines, 6 were chosen by the producers. They are KF18134, KF18040, KF18068, KF18103, KF18124, KF18048, KF18005, KF18017, KF18001, KF18024. Crop yield is the first characteristic chosen by the growers. It was followed by short cycle characteristics, panicle load, low bird damage and medium height.