PLANT CELL BIOTECHNOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Lowland rice productivity in India is often constrained by heterogeneous agro-ecological conditions and the wide diversity of rice varieties, leading to yield gaps and inconsistent profitability for smallholder farmers. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of location and varietal differences on growth, yield and economics of rice under System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Siddharth Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh, during the Kharif season of 2024.The trial was laid out in a two-factorial randomized block design (RBD) with three locations-Bansi (L₁), Barhni (L₂) and Itwa (L₃) and four rice varieties, viz., Gorakhnath-509 (V₁), Kaveri Sampurna (V₂), Sambha-5204 (V₃) and MTU-7029 (V₄), replicated thrice. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) to assess the effects of location, variety, and their interaction on growth, yield and economic parameters. Results revealed that location significantly influenced grain yield, with Bansi block producing the highest yield (61.69 q ha⁻¹) and Barhni the lowest (59.08 q ha⁻¹), while other growth and yield parameters were largely unaffected by location. Among varieties, Kaveri Sampurna recorded the highest grain yield (62.87 q ha⁻¹) along with superior tillering and grain number per plant, whereas Gorakhnath-509 yielded the lowest (58.66 q ha⁻¹). Economic analysis showed that Kaveri Sampurna provided the highest gross return (₹1,44,604 ha⁻¹), net return (₹1,10,646 ha⁻¹) and B:C ratio (3.26), whereas Gorakhnath-509 recorded the lowest profitability. The location × variety interaction was non-significant for all parameters, indicating stable varietal performance across blocks. These findings suggest that Kaveri Sampurna is the most suitable variety for achieving higher productivity and profitability in Siddharth Nagar under SRI conditions, providing evidence-based recommendations for smallholder farmers and contributing to the optimization of varietal selection under diverse lowland conditions.