DRRH 7 – World’s First Publicly Bred Rice Hybrid for Alkaline (Sodic) and Inland Saline Ecology with Saltol QTL
Sanguttuvel P*, Sundaram RM, Hari Prasad AS, Beulah P, Revati P, Kemparaju KB, Sruthi K, Mangrauthia SK, Sai Prasad SV, Prasad MS, Padmakumari AP, Mahender Kumar R, Prasad Babu MBB, Sadath Ali M, Koteshwar Rao P, Jaldhani V, Manasa Y, Arivin M, Raghuraman K and Sai Kylash K
Hybrid rice Division, Crop Improvement Section, ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, India- 500 030
*Corresponding author Email: senguttuvel@gmail.com, P.Senguttuvel@icar.org.in
Volume 19-(1), 2026 ; https://doi.org/10.58297/NDKR9048 Click here for Pdf
Received: 3rd March, 2026; Accepted: 12th March, 2026
Abstract
DRRH-7 (IET 30165) is the first publicly bred rice hybrid developed for alkaline (sodic) and inland saline ecosystems. The introgression of the Saltol QTL in the restorer line (PSV 729R) provides tolerance to salinity stress under these target environments.The hybrid was developed from the cross IR79156A × PSV 729R. DRRH-7 was evaluated under the All India Coordinated Research Project on Rice (AICRPR) multi-location Alkaline and Inland Saline Tolerant Varietal Trials (AL&ISTVT) during 2021–2024. Across test environments, the hybrid consistently outperformed national and regional tolerant checks in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. It recorded a mean grain yield of 3.5 t ha-1 under alkaline soil conditions and 3.4 t ha-1 under inland saline conditions, signifying stable yield performance and stress resilience. The enhanced performance under sodic and saline stress highlights the effectiveness of Saltol-mediated Na+/K+ homeostasis in sustaining productivity. DRRH-7 exhibited moderate resistance to key fungal diseases including leaf blast, neck blast, brown spot and grain discoloration, along with moderate tolerance to plant hoppers, thereby ensuring yield stability under biotic stress pressures. The hybrid matures in 127–130 days (seed-to-seed) and possesses a long slender (LS) grain type with desirable milling, cooking and grain quality traits suitable for consumer acceptance. Based on its consistent multi-environment superiority and stress adaptability, DRRH-7 was released for commercial cultivation in the alkaline and inland saline ecosystems of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu by the Central Sub-Committee on Crop Standards, Notification and Release of Varieties for Agricultural Crops vide S.O. 6123 (E) dated December 31, 2025 (CG-DL-E-31122025-268976).