Die Bodenkultur - Journal for Land Management, Food and Environment

Friedrich J. Zeller:

Improving cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) by making use of the genetic potential of wild species

Summary

The rapid spread of high-yielding varieties in the last decades has greatly narrowed the genetic base of cultivated rice (Oryza satiua L.).The preservation and use of the diverse germ plasm in wild rice species is vital to the further improvement of the crop and serves to safeguard the genetic vulnerability caused by diseases, insects and abiotic stresses. Wild species provide a huge genetic reservoir to be used in breeding of cultivated rice. Key words: genetic resources, wild rice species, Oryza; gene transfer.