Revealing the higher degree statistics and transgressive segregation pattern of nutritional and agronomical traits in the segregating population derived from Samba Mahsuri and Sathi of rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i>)

Rice is the richest source of starch and carbohydrates but is deficient in major micronutrients such as iron and zinc. Slight enrichment with these micronutrients could help combat malnutrition. For a successful plant breeding program, genetic variability is crucial. Thus, the research aimed to analyze the description of statistics and transgressive segregation among the nutritional and agronomical traits in the F2 rice population. In this context, 190 progenies from the F2 population and parents were sown in Kharif 2020. Ten agronomical and two nutritional traits (grain iron and zinc content) were recorded from each genotype of the F2 population. All the recorded data were subjected to descriptive analysis and transgressive segregants were recorded for grain iron and zinc content. Descriptive analysis revealed positive skewness for the number of effective tillers per plant (0.998), grain length-breadth ratio (0.256), thousand-grain weight (0.875), grain zinc content (0.232), and grain yield per plant (1.460). Negative skewness was recorded for days to fifty per cent flowering (-2.805), plant height (-0.396), panicle length (-0.150), grain breadth (-0.335), and grain iron content (-0.356). The number of filled grains per panicle, grain length breadth ratio, grain zinc, and iron content exhibited the platykurtic nature of the distribution curve. Concerning transgressive segregants of nutritional traits, ten were observed for grain zinc content and thirty for grain iron content in the F2 rice population. These transgressive segregants for grain zinc and iron content might be used for developing advanced breeding lines, and skewness and kurtosis provide necessary genetic information for gene interaction.