Screening African rice ( for tolerance to abiotic stresses: I. Fe toxicity.

Iron (Fe) toxicity is recognized as one of the most widely spread soil constraints for rice production especially in West Africa. the cultivated rice species that originated from West Africa is well-adapted to its growing ecologies. The aim of this study was to identify the promising accessions tolerant to Fe toxicity from the 2106 accessions held at the AfricaRice gene bank. The screenings were conducted over a four-year period and involved evaluating the entries under Fe-toxic field conditions in West Africa, selecting good yielding accessions and repeating the testing with newly selected lines. Three accessions (TOG 7206, TOG 6218-B and TOG 7250-A) were higher yielding than checks under stress but with similar yields under control conditions. These accessions yielded over 300 g/m under both Fe toxicity and control conditions. In conclusion, these materials could be used as donors in breeding programs for developing high yielding rice varieties suited to Fe toxicity affected areas in West Africa.