ASSESSMENT OF SEED YIELD AND YIELD RELATED CHARACTERS AMONG 22 NIGERIAN CULTIVATED RICE (Oryza sativa L.) VARIETIES GROWN IN GUINEA SAVANNAH AGRO-ECOLOGY, ABUJA, OVER TWO CROPPING YEARS

Twenty-two rice varieties were evaluated in a field trial under rain-fed conditions at the National Agricultural Seeds Council, Sheda, Abuja (Latitudes 8°53'7'' – 8 o 45’3N and Longitudes 7°3'56'' – 7 o 3.01’E) in 2017 and 2018 cropping years to provide a comparative measure for seed yield and yield related components of cultivated rice varieties in guinea savannah agro-ecology of Nigeria. The experimental field was laid out using Randomized Complete Block Design in three replicates. Seeds of the 22 varieties were assessed for seedling emergence, days to 50% flowering, plant height, number of panicles/plant, seed yield/plot, seed yield/ha, 100 seed weight and seed weight/ plant. Data obtained were subjected to Analysis of Variance and means were separated using Tukey’s HSD at 5% probability level. Pearson’s correlation coefficient and principal component analyses were also used. Higher panicle length, number of panicles/plot, seed weight/plant and 100-seed weight were observed in year 2017 compared to 2018. FARO 48, FARO 59, FARO 58 and PAC 832 had highest seed yield (10.19 - 11.09 tha-1 ) while FARO 62, FARO 22 and FARO 21 performed poorly. Plant height, number of panicles/plant, panicle height, seed yield/plant mainly contributed to the variation within the rice varieties. Seed germination was positively related to other seed quality attributes (r=0.36 – 0.84**). The study concluded that FARO 48, FARO 59, FARO 58, PAC 832, FARO 44 and FARO 45 with highest seed yield components are recommended for cultivation and could be used for future yield improvement.