Hom Nin Non-Glutinous Mutant Rice

A mutant rice population was created by inducing Hom Nin non-glutinous rice seed to mutate with fast neutron radiation. The whole population of 21,024 lines now has seed in the M5 generation. Screening mutant lines by both forward and reverse genetics, identified mutants that have been verified to differ from the original Hom Nin variety in at least 1 trait have been collected, 299 lines in all. The important mutants used as extremely rare donor parents in breeding include heat-tolerant, iron-toxicity-tolerant, flash-flood-tolerant and brown-planthopper-tolerant mutants.

Mutant rice with good yield traits and altered starch properties, cooking quality and aroma was selected and grown to compare yields under organic farming, from which the following outstanding lines were selected:

Hom Nin non-glutinous mutant rice M11183  

Soft non-glutinous rice, photoperiod insensitive, white grains, slender grains, harvest age 125 days, yield 830–900 kg/rai

Hom Nin non-glutinous mutant rice M9997  

Non-glutinous rice, photoperiod insensitive, white grains, medium amylose and aroma, harvest age 121 days, yield 720 kg/rai

Hom Nin non-glutinous mutant rice M00005

Hard-textured non-glutinous rice, photoperiod insensitive, white grains, harvest age 130 days, yield 920 kg/rai

Hom Nin non-glutinous mutant rice M2313  

Black glutinous rice, photoperiod insensitive, with aroma, harvest age 127 days, yield 780 kg/rai

Hom Nin non-glutinous mutant rice M9689  

Black glutinous rice, photoperiod insensitive, with aroma, harvest age 129 days, yield 860 kg/rai

Hom Nin non-glutinous white-leaf mutant rice

This is one of the mutant lines found to have a morphological change: this variety has striped leaves with long white bands alternating with green. This mutant line was therefore separated out to be grown on and multiplied, and named after the trait found, “Hom Nin non-glutinous white-leaf mutant rice”. The white-leaf mutant was later used as the male parent to cross with Kam Hom Nin rice (the female parent), giving all 5 Rainbow Rice lines.