Pakistan rice genetic resources-II: Distribution pattern of grain morphological diversity

Rice grain quality characters pertaining to morphology were evaluated for diversity within Pakistan local rice germplasm; 475 accessions collected from 3-rice cultivation zones and other parts of the country. The altitudinal distribution patterns were carried out for some grain quality traits. A wide variation was found in grain size, shape and weight. The variation observed for these traits seemed to bear some correlation for its distribution with respect to altitude of collection site. Pakistan rice cultivars were dominated by long grain type while the short grains were absent, according to the measured length. However, based on grain length/width ratio, 1 % short grain types were present in regions of higher altitude. The long grain types were not recorded from altitudes above 1500 m.