Aromatic Rice of India: It’s Types and Breeding Strategies

Abstract

The coalescence of organoleptic traits viz., pleasant aroma, cooked rice texture, and taste make aromatic rice unique and distinguished from non-aromatic rice. Aromatic rice is cultivated in every rice growing country; with each country has its own indigenous collection. International trade of rice is dominated by Indica (long grained), Japonica (short grained), aromatic rice (Basmati and Jasmine) and glutinous rice; amidst which, Basmati types from India and Pakistan; and Jasmine types from Thailand have phenomenal demand. In India all types of aromatic rice are cultivated based on Kernel length; short, medium, long and very long grained. Basmati varieties own the major market, while other types of aromatic rice besides Basmati are popular in local market only. The country inherits rich diversity of aromatic rice germplasm; with more than 300 different types, each of the rice growing states of India has its own locally popular aromatic rice varieties. India a country where two third of its population consume rice as part of their daily food; aromatic rice always remain their favorite. Basmati, by virtue of its excellent qualities it dominates both national and international market. Every year, Basmati ranks first in respect of foreign exchange earned from the export of agricultural products from India (APEDA). The phenomenal demand and export figures have augmented Basmati Breeding program. However, only few aromatic varieties are cultivated depending on their demand, and their breeding program is also limited. In India, Basmati has over-shadowed other types of aromatic rice in market and in plant breeding programs too. Breeding for Basmati varieties is undertaken by prime agricultural institutions of India. The country regulates quality standards and development of Basmati varieties with the help of Export of Basmati Rice (Quality Control and Inspection) Rules 2003; Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA); and Basmati Export Development Foundation (BEDF). However, no such initiatives have been taken to promote the development of other aromatic rice varieties of India besides Basmati.

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“…The improvement of locally adapted aromatic landraces through the application of pure line breeding has a longstanding history. In fact, the very first Basmati rice variety, Basmati-370, originated through the process of pure line selection (Sharma et al, 2021). The insufficient yield and inadequate response to inputs make it challenging for local scented varieties to compete with their high-yielding counterparts.…”

“…The application of molecular breeding extends its benefits by enhancing resistance to both biotic and abiotic stresses in both Basmati and Jasmine sagens.org/journal/agens [57] rice varieties. In India, molecular breeding has yielded two Basmati rice varieties, Improved PB-1 and PB-1718, both characterized by their resistance to bacterial blight (Sharma et al, 2021). Molecular breeding of Jasmine rice involves incorporating genes for resistance to BPH, BLB, blast, and tolerance to salt and drought, aiming to enhance the popular KDML105 variety and produce varieties like HM80, HM812, and HM84 (Vanavichit et al, 2018).…”