S.N. VASUDEVANMARUTHI, J.B.2020-06-032020-06-032016-06-30200http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810146949Genetic diversity is pre-requisite for any crop improvement programme as it helps in the development of superior recombinants. In the present study the nature and magnitude of genetic diversity, growth, yield and micronutrients (Iron and Zinc) was assessed among 180 rice genotypes. Among the genotypes GNV-MSGP-28 registered significantly highest leaf area (439.17 cm2 hill-1), number of panicles plant-1 (22.67), panicle length (27.09 cm), seed yield (46.50 g plant-1) and seed yield (74.70 q ha-1). Whereas, PAU 3284 and PAU 3207 took less number of days to 50 per cent flowering (81.50 days) and days to maturity (121.00 days), respectively compared to other genotypes. In nutrient content (Fe and Zn), high magnitude of genotypic variation was observed among the entries. The maximum iron and zinc was observed in IR10N 211 (76.67 ppm) and PAU 3130 (79.85 ppm), respectively compared to other genotypes. Hence, these can be used as donors for improving nutritional quality. Foliar application of micronutrient (Fe @ 1% and Zn @ 0.5) significantly increased Fe concentration of rice by 41.25 per cent and Zn by 41.12 per cent. Among the genotypes, IET-22147 for iron and IET-22017 for Zn showed good response to foliar application. With increase in seed-Fe and Zn content progressive increase in seed germination and seedling vigour was observed. Among ten genotypes studied for seed longevity, PAU-3105-45-3-2 maintained highest germination (85.70 %), speed of germination (18.80), seedling vigour index (1795), total dehydrogenase activity (0.39) and α-amylase activity (12.47 mm) with lower electrical conductivity (103.40 dS/cm) even after 12 months of storage period. For identifying SSR markers associated with Fe content, ten SSR primers were used among the ten genotypes. Out of them, 09 primers showed polymorphism which can be used in marker assisted selection for identifying Fe rich linesenThesis