Abstract

The formation of carhead marks the shift from vegetative to reproductive phase and the stored food materials is apportioned between its constituents namely number of grains, number of chaff, grain weight and panicle length. Study of these characters in rice crop helps the breeders in the evolution of strains having high yield potential. Ramiah (1937) has stated that the number of grains found in an earhead is a varietal character and the arrangements of spikelets also vary between varieties. Tin U (1936) observed variation in panicle characters within a variety and grain weight in the same panicle. Ramiah and Parthasarathy (1933) have found that the lower portions of the earheads bear a high proportion of empty grains Richharia et al (1963) emphasised the importance of panicle length and density of grains in the selection of high yielding varieties. Hence a study of earhead character with respect to its length, number of grains and chaff persent and their weight in rice is important as these characters contribute to high yield in a strain.

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