Abstract:
Traditional rice varieties, also called heirloom varieties, have been grown for generations
using natural farming methods and sustainable practices. Framers have passed down the
cultivation of these varieties, helping to preserve their genetic diversity. Main objective of
this research was to evaluate the morphological characteristics of selected traditional rice
accessions. Two weeks old rice accessions (3851,3649,3549, and 3565) were planted in
Completely Randomize Block Design with four replicates using organic feftllizer. Days to
fifth leaf (DFL), Plant Height (PH), Number of culms per plant (NC), Number of leaves
per plant (NL) and Days to Flowering (DF) were collected. Two-way ANOVA were
performed by using Minitab 17 version. There is a significant vanation in plant height at
DFL was noted, with accession 3851 having the longest flag leaves (60.75 + 7 .05 cm) and
3565 the shortest (25.15 + 5.I2 cm). Among tested four accessions, only two accessions,
3851 and 3649 flowered within the experimental period of time. Accession 3851 flowered
at (90.5 + 2.38 days), while 3649 flowered at (109 + 2.58 days). There is a signihcant
variation in Plant height at flowering stage was noted, 3649 (186.25il6.78 cm)
continuously had the highest mean number of plant height, while 3851 (137+2.58 cm)
continuously had the lowest mean number of plant height (P<0.05). The correlation Matrix
reported longer leaves tend to supporl higher leaf numbers and more culms. These
relationships may influence growth performance and yield potential. This information will
be a valuable inputs for future breeding programmes.
