The LSU AgCenter hybrid project continued to move forward in 2013, with tangible progress being made.

"We are making steady progress in the right direction," said Dr. Jim Oard, LSU AgCenter plant breeder.

For the second year, the medium-grain line LAH10 was the top entry in the uniform regional nursery trial that includes breeding material from all of the Southern rice-growing states, Oard said. "Also this year, LAH10 performed well off-station in Franklin and St. Landry parishes," he said.

The line’s high yield potential is offset by its tall stature that would cause lodging problems, Oard said.

But the Kellogg Co. has a strong interest in LAH10 because of its bold grain, good milling and low chalk, Oard said. "We are trying to work with the parents of LAH10 to reduce the height and the date of maturity," he said.

Four Louisiana hybrid lines also produced yields comparable to commercial hybrids, Oard said, adding, "We found that encouraging."

In addition, five hybrid lines were identified with good milling and low chalk.

"It demonstrates that with breeding efforts hybrids can produce good milling yields and low chalk values," Oard said. "Those lines are going to be advanced and retested for next year."

Three new hybrid lines also will be tested in different locations across the state next year, the LSU AgCenter plant breeder said. In addition, four male sterile lines were advanced and crossed with Louisiana parents, and they will be tested in trials next year.

Oard said resistance to sheath blight and bacterial panicle blight is obvious in many of the new hybrids developed from Chinese germplasm.

The program will be working toward incorporating the Clearfield trait into medium- and long-grain hybrid lines, he said.

"The LSU AgCenter hybrid project also is cooperating with the University of Arkansas-Stuttgart to develop hybrid germplasm suitable for adaptation in Louisiana and Arkansas," Oard said. "The cooperation involves exchange of germplasm and evaluation of breeding lines from both states.

"So we will have a better chance to find desirable combinations," he said.

(This article was published in the 2014 Louisiana Rice Research Board Annual Report.)