Keragaman padi gogo lokal Jambi berdasarkan karakter morfologi pada fase vegetatif

Abstract

Jambi Province is one of the regions in Indonesia which is rich in local upland rice germplasm. The diversity among local cultivars reflects their adaptation to specific agroecosystems, such as marginal land conditions and low-input environments. However, this genetic resource is currently facing erosion due to modernization, the widespread adoption of newly released high-yielding varieties, and the conversion of agricultural land into plantations. Local upland rice germplasm serves as an important genetic resources for the development of improved cultivars capable of addressing future challenges in upland rice cultivation. The success of breeding programs for upland rice depends on the availability of genetic diversity, as broad genetic variation enhances the efficiency of selection and facilitates substantial genetic gains. Morphological markers are among the tools commonly used to assess genetic diversity. This study aimed to evaluate the morphological diversity of local upland rice germplasm from Jambi based on vegetative phase characteristics. A field experiment was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm, Faculty of Agriculture, from June to September 2025. The experiment was arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with two replications, using 30 local upland rice accessions as treatments. Observations were carried out on both qualitative and quantitative morphological traits during the vegetative phase, including plant habit, culm color, ligule shape, leaf color, leaf sheath color, collar color, auricle color, plant height, and number of tillers. The results revealed considerable morphological variation among the accessions, indicating the presence of genetic diversity within the local upland rice germplasm of Jambi.