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One hundred and twenty two (122) genotypes of Basmati and non-Basmati Indica rice genotypes were evaluated for expression of resistance against blast disease under induced epiphytotic conditions. Disease severity (%) and area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) parameters were used for screening the blast resistance. Only 13 genotypes expressed resistance against the blast disease. Nine genotypes carried blast resistance genes but, were susceptible under induced epiphytotic conditions. The rice genotype VLD-61 had no resistance genes; however, it expressed strong resistance against blast. An empirical breeding strategy for development of blast resistant improved varieties of rice was also discussed.Keywords: Magnaporthe oryzae, restriction digestion, molecular breeding, Basmati riceAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(26), pp. 4098-4104

The present communication is aimed to find out determinants of molecular marker based classification of rice (Oryza sativa L) germplasm using the available data from an experiment conducted for development of molecular fingerprints of diverse varieties of Basmati and non Basmati rice adapted to irrigated and aerobic agro-eco systems. The distance-matrix based dendrogram was developed following UPGMA method that grouped all the 44 varieties agro-eco systems wise. We examined the clustering of Basmati and non- Basmati varieties in detail. The results suggest that the easily distinguishable simple characters viz. plant height, photosensitivity, leaf color, awn’s color, awns’ number etc., governed by major genes did not contribute significantly towards classification of rice genotypes used. The complex characters such as adaptation to agro-eco systems and rice quality may play vital role in determination of molecular marker based classification of rice genotypes. Key word: Basmati rice, molecular markers, genetic diversity, agro-eco systems, rice quality