Agro-morphological Characterization for Evaluation of Potential Upland Red Rice Cultivars in Manipur, India

The present investigation was carried out during the two consecutive kharif seasons of 2020 and 2021 at Tamenglong district, Manipur. The aim of the research was to determine the high-yielding upland red rice cultivars in Manipur. The study materials consisted of twelve red rice cultivars that thrived in upland conditions, sourced from various districts in Manipur. The experiment was laid out in a randomised block design (RBD) with twelve cultivars and three replications. The soil of the experimental field was silty clay loam in nature, having an acidic reaction (pH 3.9), low in available nitrogen (237.96 kg/ha) and available phosphorus (14.8 kg/ha), medium in available potassium (263.66 kg/ha) and high in organic carbon (1.0%). The crop received a total rainfall of 2344.2 mm during the cropping season. The values of growth attributes such as plant height and LAI were found to be maximum in the cultivar Mariumiu kahengbo, and the number of tillers was found to be maximum in the cultivar Chatee. The number of effective tillers was found to be at its maximum in Chatee. The highest grain yield was recorded in the cultivar Chatee. The research findings recommend that farmers focus on cultivating the Chatee cultivar among the studied cultivars.