Exploring the Morphological Diversity of Selected Abakaliki Local Rice Cultivars: A Study of Key Physical Traits and Variations

Abakaliki rice is unique compared to other rice grown in different parts of Nigeria, unfortunately, rice yield per hectare is low because smallholder farmers rely on local rice cultivars with low yield potentials, Therefore, identification of high-yielding locally adapted rice varieties in combination with high grain quality is the most effective strategy in increasing rice production in Ebonyi State. Hence, forty rice cultivars collected from different villages and local government areas in Ebonyi State were cultivated in a complete randomized block design in three replications to evaluate the morphological characteristics of the Abakaliki local rice cultivars using the standard rice evaluation method. The results showed that Nwangbashianya had the highest grain length with a mean value of 1.03mm followed by Akuje and Iron with the same mean value of 1.00 mm,. Mars had the maximum plant length with a mean value of 174.67cm, and maximum performance for 1000 grain per weight with a mean value of 4.13kg. The results also revealed varied number of primary panicles for which Iron recorded the highest mean value of 43.67. The maximum number of primary and secondary tillers were observed in Faro 15 and Offia with mean values of 6.33 and 4.00 respectively. Concurrent selection based on these best-performing cultivars with exceptional traits could lead to the development of high-yielding rice varieties in Ebonyi State.