Received: 10 September 2019; Accepted: 25 November 2019

Abstract

The rice root knot nematode Meloidogyne graminicola is one of the important nematode problems in many rice-growing areas of the world. The development of nematode-resistant cultivars is the most cost-effective and sustainable method for nematode management in rice. The success of a breeding programme for resistance depends on the availability of diverse sources of resistance. The present study was conducted to screen fourteen rice cultivars for resistance to M. graminicola in search of strong resistant source. The rice cultivars were screened for resistance to M. graminicola by the germination paper screening method using the relative root-gall index (RRGI) and relative reproduction index (RRI) scores. Out of the fourteen rice cultivars tested, only two cultivars viz., Swarnadhan and Dhanrasi were found resistant to M. graminicola. These two rice cultivars can be studied further to use them as donors in resistance breeding against M. graminicola.