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require restorer lines, it might be extremely useful for
breeding japonica and basmati rice hybrids.
Thermosensitive genic male sterility (TGMS), de-
veloped in China (Yuan, 1987), Japan (Maruyama
et al., 1990), and IRRI (Voc & Virmani, 1991) is
controlled by a single recessive nuclear gene which
interacts with temperature to express pollen sterility or
fertility (Maruyama et al, 1990; Borkakati & Virmani,
1995). Seeds of a TGMS line are multiplied by selfing
when they are exposed to the right temperature during
their critical growth stage which in the tropics was 5–
15 days after panicle initiation (Maruyama et al., 1990;
Borkakati & Virmani, unpublished). Commercial F1
hybrids are produced by pollinating a TGMS line with
any fertile line or variety. This hybrid rice breeding
system, called the two-line method (Yuan, 1987) in-
creases breeding efficiency. This paper presents results
on developing TGMS lines and reports performance of
some two-line rice hybrids.
Materials and methods
At the initial phase of the TGMS breeding program,
performance of the temperate japonica TGMS gene
donor Norin PL 12, provided by Japan through the
IRRI-Japan Shuttle Project, was tested at IRRI farm
(altitude 21 m), Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya (altitude 100
m) and in high altitude areas, Banaue, Ifugao (alti-
tude about 100 to 1040 m in the Philippines. Norin
PL 12 was crossed with elite indica (IR36, BG 90-
2, IR46830B, IR62829B, IR9761-17-1R) and tropical
japonica (IR47686-17-1B) rice cultivars and the se-
gregated materials generated were handled by the
pedigree selection procedure. To determine the right
time of planting in IRRI farm, the average temperature
was computed on the basis of 15 year temperature data
from the IRRI Climate Unit.
Breeding materials were grown during a period of
high temperature (maximum temperature above 30 ◦ C
in the dry and wet seasons in the field to identify
progenies showing TGMS segregants. Six hundred
plants per F2 population were grown and 30 fertile
plants were selected based on phenotypic acceptab-
ility. In F3 -F5 generations, agronomically superior
families were identified and subsequently, selection
of fertile plants was done in the families showing se-
gregation for sterility. From each progeny consisting
of 36 plants, seven to ten fertile plants possessing
normal spikelet fertility were selected. Phenotypically
acceptable male sterile segregants among the F5 -F6
progenies were ratooned and transferred to the IRRI
Phytotron glasshouse with 27/21 ◦ C day/night temper-
ature, to induce seed setting. Seeds harvested from
these plants were sown in mid-November up to the
first week of December to expose the desired plants
to a fertility-inducing temperature (below 30 ◦ C in
February) at the critical stage (5–15 days after panicle
initiation) for seed multiplication and further selec-
tion. Remaining seeds of the selected TGMS plants
were seeded in late January to early February to ex-
pose them at the critical stage, to a sterility-inducing
temperature above 30 ◦ C in March-April for evaluat-
ing pollen and/or spikelet sterility of plants in their
progenies. Pollen sterility was determined by stain-
ing pollen grains with 1% Iodine Potassium Iodide
(IKI) solution, while spikelet fertility was determined
by counting the filled spikelets in proportion to the
total number of spikelets of randomly selected bagged
panicles of a plant.
In another experiment, selected TGMS lines were
seeded in January, June, and August to expose them to
a sterility-inducing temperature (above 30 ◦ C) during
panicle initiation to flowering (in March-April, Aug-
Sept. and Sept-Oct, respectively) and test their sterility
behavior. To induce fertility for their seed multiplica-
tion these TGMS lines were seeded in November to
expose them at the critical stage to a fertility-inducing
temperature 28–29 ◦ C in January-February. These sus-
pected TGMS lines were also grown in higher altitude
(150 m above sea level) areas – Lucban, Quezon and
Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya – to induce pollen and spikelet
fertility.
Two new indica TGMS lines, IR68945-4-33-4-
14 and IR68945-11-5-31 developed from the program
were crossed with some elite rice cultivars used as
male parents to produce 246 experimental two-line
rice hybrids. These hybrids were evaluated along with
209 three-line in an unreplicated testcross nursery in
1993 and 1994. In the 1995 wet season 30 two-line
hybrids were evaluated in an observational yield trial
using an augmented design. Six promising hybrids
were further tested in preliminary yield trial with 5
m × 2 m plot size and laid out in a randomized
complete block design with four replications. Stand-
ard statistical analyses were conducted to calculate
least significant difference (LSD) for testing the sig-
nificance of difference between two-line hybrids and
checks.