Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

School of Plants, Environmental and Soil Sciences

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

Global agricultural production must increase by 70% in the next 30 years to feed the world’s population. Rice is a staple food resource for over one-third of the world’s population. Therefore, increasing rice production is one of the most efficient ways to ensure food security in the future. Technological advances in plant breeding techniques such as hybrid rice have been a benefit for rice producers and consumers in the U.S. and other rice growing regions. The initial objective of this research was to develop and characterize elite Clearfield® and conventional temperature-sensitive genic male sterility (TGMS) lines adapted to Louisiana field environments. Three elite long grain TGMS lines were selected after evaluation carried out over a four-year period. An important selection factor was the performance of elite TGMS lines by testcrossing with pollinator lines and subsequent field evaluation of candidate hybrids. Two Clearfield® experimental long-grain, early-maturing hybrids CL19-1034 and CL37-1035 evaluated in small yield trials in three locations during 2020 produced 28 to 36% yield advantage compared to Clearfield varieties CL153 and CL111. The third objective of this research was to improve rapid generation advance methodology for rice breeding lines adapted to Louisiana greenhouse conditions. Standard pedigree breeding can take up to 10 years if the material is planted once per growing season. The new LSU method developed seeds for generation advance in 86 days, produced seed in 50% less greenhouse space, used no field soil, and required less labor vs. the published IRRI method. The new RGA method could be used by U.S. rice breeders to help improve the efficiency in the early stages of the breeding pipeline.

Date

3-29-2021

Committee Chair

Oard, James

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.5524

Available for download on Monday, March 13, 2028

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