SES 5th Edition

5th Edition
June 2013
5th edition
June 2013
Standard Evaluation
System (SES)
for Rice
2013
P.O. Box 933, 1099 Manila, Philippines
Table of Contents
PREFACE
ix
EXPLANATION
Introduction
General Scale
Trait characterization
Use of SES scoring system
Standard area diagram
Considerations
GROWTH STAGES OF RICE PLANTS
11
12
AGRONOMIC TRAITS
Seedling/Vegetative Vigor (Vg)
12
Tillering Ability (Ti)
12
Culm Strength (Cs)
13
Lodging Incidence (Lg)
13
Plant Height (Ht)
13
Leaf Senescence (Sen)
13
Panicle Exsertion (Exs)
14
Spikelet Fertility (SpFert)
14
Phenotypic Acceptability (PAcp)
14
Maturity (Mat)
14
Grain Yield (Yld)
15
TRAITS FOR EVALUATION OF RICE HYBRIDS AND/OR PARENTAL LINES

Male Sterility Group
15
Degree of Male Sterility of Male Sterile Lines

Pollen Sterility
15
Spikelet Sterility
16
Abortion Pattern of Male Sterile Line
16
iii
Extent of Outcrossing on Male Sterile Lines
16
Panicle Exsertion of Male Sterile Lines
17
Stigma Exsertion in Male Sterile Lines
17
Opening of Glume of Male Sterile Lines
17
Fertility Restoration in F1 Hybrids
17
INJURIES CAUSED BY DISEASES

Leaf Blast (Bl)
18
Panicle Blast (PB)
19
Brown Spot (BS)
20
Narrow Brown Leaf Spot (NBLS)
20
Bacterial Leaf Streak (BLS)
20
Leaf Scald (LSc)
21
Bacterial Blight (BB)
21
Rice Diseases caused by Viruses and Mycoplasma-Like
21
Organism (MLO)
Rice Tungro Disease (RTD)
22
Rice Grassy Stunt 1 and 2 Disease
23
Rice Ragged Stunt Disease
24
Yellow Dwarf (YD)
24
Rice Yellow Mottle (RYMV)
24
Rice Hoja Blanca (RHBV)
25
Sheath Blight (ShB)
25
Sheath Rot (ShR)
25
Grain Discoloration (Gd)
26
False Smut (FSm)
26
Kernel Smut (KSm)
26
Udbatta Disease (UDb)
27
Bakanae Disease (Bak)
27
Stem Rot (SR)
27
Ufra (U)
27
iv
INJURIES CAUSED BY RODENTS AND BIRDS

Rat Injury (RD)
28
Bird Injury (BD)
28
INJURIES CAUSED BY INSECT

Brown Planthopper (BPH)
28
Green Leafhopper (GLH)
29
Whitebacked Planthopper (WBPH)
29
Rice Delphacid (RDel)
30
Stem Borers (SB)
30
Leaffolder (LF)
31
Gall Midge (GM)
32
Caseworm (CW)
33
Rice Whorl Maggot (RWM)
33
Rice Bug (RB)
33
Thrips
33
PHYSIOCHEMICAL STRESS
Problem Soils
34
Alkali Injury (Alk) and Salt Injury (Sal)
34
Iron Toxicity (FeTox)
34
Phosphorus Deficiency (PDef)
34
Zinc Deficiency (ZDef)
35
TEMPERATURE
Cold Tolerance (CTol)
35
Heat Tolerance (HTol)
36
DROUGHT
Drought Sensitivity (DRS)
36
Recovery (DRR)
37
DEEPWATER
Elongation (Elon)
37
Submergence Tolerance (Sub)
38
v
Kneeing Ability (KnA)
38
MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS
Variety Group
38
Seedling Height (SH)
39
Leaf Length (LL)
39
Leaf Width (LW)
39
Leaf Blade Pubescence (LBP)
39
Leaf Blade Color (LBC)
39
Basal Leaf Sheath Color (BLSC)
40
Leaf Angle (LA)
40
Flag Leaf Angle (FLA)
40
Ligule Length (LgL)
40
Ligule Color (LC)
40
Ligule Shape (LS)
40
Collar Color (CC)
41
Auricle Color (AC)
41
Culm Length (CmL)
41
Culm Number (CmN)
41
Culm Angle (CmA)
41
Diameter of Basal Internode (DBI)
41
Culm Internode Color (CmIC)
42
Panicle Length (PnL)
42
Panicle Type (PnT)
42
Secondary Branching of Panicles (PnBr)
42
Panicle Axis (PnAk)
42
Awning (An)
42
Awn Color (AnC)
42
Apiculus Color (ApC)
43
Stigma Color (SgC)
43
Lemma and Palea Color (LmPC)
43
vi
Lemma and Palea Pubescence (LmPb)
43
Sterile Lemma Color (SLmC)
43
Sterile Lemma Length (SLmL)
43
Grain Length (GrL)
44
Grain Width (GrW)
44
GRAIN QUALITY
Endosperm Type (End)
44
Chalkiness of Endosperm (Clk)
44
Brown Rice Length (Len)
45
Brown Rice Shape (BrS) (length-width ratio)
45
100-grain Weight (GW)
45
Seed Coat (bran) Color (SCC)
45
Scent (Sct)
45
Amylose Content of the Grain (Amy)
46
Alkali Digestion (AlkD)
46
Gel Consistency (GelC)
46
Brown Rice Protein (Prt)
46
UPOV DUST ASTERISKED CHARACTERS

Leaf anthocyanin coloration of auricles
47
Flag leaf: attitude of blade

Early observation
47
Late observation
48
Time of heading
48
Lemma: anthocyanin coloration of apex
48
Spikelet: color of stigma
49
Non prostrate varieties only: Stem length
49
Stem: anthocyanin coloration of nodes
49
Panicle: length of main axis
49
Panicle: distribution of awns
49
Spikelet: pubescence of lemma
49
vii
Panicle: curvature of main axis
50
Panicle: attitude of branches
51
Decorticated grain: length
51
Decorticated grain: shape
51
Decorticated grain: color
52
Decorticated grain: aroma
52
viii
Preface
The Standard Evaluation System (SES) for Rice is one of the most requested IRRI publications that is highly utilized by rice scientists worldwide. It provides a common nomenclature and standardized scales for
assessing rice agronomic performance and classifying rice responses to
biotic and abiotic stresses. First published in 1975, the SES has been
revised four times. The last printed edition came out in 1996 and an
online version was published in 2002 in The Rice Knowledge Bank
(http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/extension/index.php/ses).
Revision of the current edition took almost two years to complete. Initially, inputs of rice scientists from international and national rice research programs and the private sector were solicited. This resulted in
improvements on the scoring procedures based on the state-of-the-art
in the different disciplines. The ensuing drafts were then widely circulated for feedback before generating a final draft.
This 5th edition incorporates improved scoring systems for agronomic
traits and morphological characteristics. It also redefined some terminologies like injury instead of disease for more clarity. With the increasing importance of plant variety protection, the 17 asterisked characters of the Test Guidelines for Rice of The International Union for the
Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), which are important in
testing for distinctness of new varieties, were also incorporated. Realizing that improvements may still be made in the future, users of this
booklet are requested to send their comments and suggestions to me as
INGER Coordinator at IRRI Headquarters for consideration and incorporation in the next edition.
To ensure worldwide dissemination, we are publishing this 5th edition in
both print and electronic formats. The latter will be posted in the
INGER website (http://inger. irri.org/).
The strong cooperation and significant contributions of scientists from
national rice programs, international research centers, and the private
sector, among other partners under the Global Rice Science Partnership
(GRiSP; http://www.grisp.net/), are gratefully acknowledged.
Edilberto D. Redoa
Senior Scientist II (Rice Breeder and INGER Coordinator)
e.redona@irri.org
ix
Explanation
Introduction
Identifying promising rice germplasm with useful traits is an important activity in rice improvement. The genetic potential of breeding
materials, whether developed by conventional breeding or genetic engineering, is evaluated based on phenotypic expressions in target environments with the stress of interest. Thus, an accurate and precise yet
rapid and practical assessment method should be utilized.
This Standard Evaluation System for Rice (SES) has been prepared to enable rice scientists from around the world to speak a common language on evaluation of rice characters. This booklet has two
major functions. The first is to expedite data collection, processing
and analysis of multi-environment trials (METs). Although the complexity of scale and method of scale assignment varies among rice
characters, the SES remains the most popular method used in mass
evaluation of breeding lines. The second purpose is to promote an
interdisciplinary approach to rice improvement. Devising improved
scales and assessment methods, and interpretation of evaluation results require joint efforts of scientists in different disciplines.
General scale
A scale is devised by dividing the total range of possible phenotypic
expressions of rice characters into a number of defined classes. Visual
grading usually progresses logarithmically. As the stimulus increases,
discrimination decreases. The SES scale has been designed as a general purpose, computer compatible scale for recording various traits in
rice. A general scale for SES is shown in Table 1. A few exceptions to
these general rules have been made for reasons of logic, historical reasons, or both.
Table 1. General scale used in SES

For stress
Index
Value
General description and

desirability
Blank
No data or missing point
1
2
3
4
6
7
8
9
Judgment
Trait expression is not as

good as it should be, but
may be acceptable under
some circumstances (i.e.
quantitative resistance
under low or intermediate
disease pressure)
Code
symbolb
Blank
Absence of trait, no visible

symptom or injury
Trait expression is satisfactory (useful) from the

plant breeders point of
view and the parent of
variety can be used as a
donor
Severity of
incidence
(factual)a
0%
Similar to best
resistant check,
good
HR
HR
Less than 5%
R
MR
MS
Between resistant and susceptible check,

fair
6-25%
Trait expression is unsatisfactory (not useful) in

Similar to most
terms of commercial acsusceptible
More than 25%
ceptability or genetic imcheck, poor
provement of a crop
(Intermediate)
S
HS
a
Intensity may vary depending upon the type of stress. bHR = highly resistant reaction, R
= resistant reaction, MR = moderately resistant reaction, MS= moderately susceptible
reaction, S = susceptible reaction, HS = highly susceptible reaction.
Because the human eye cannot differentiate easily between 10

divisions of certain traits, only three (1, 5, 9) or five (1, 3, 5, 7, 9) digits
are used. For descriptors of germplasm accessions or for detailed research, 10 units may be used if desired. Because the SES aims at universality, compromises and simplifications had to be accepted in developing a uniform scale for measuring plant injuries, some of which
can be very complex.
Trait characterization
The following methods are used to describe various traits:
1. A descriptive code is used for traits that have more or less discontinuous genetic variation or for traits whose nature of expression is not
easily translated into numerical units (e.g. leaf blade color).
2. Severity or incidence is the quantitative measurement of the intensity of injury caused by diseases, animal pests, or other stresses. Incidence refers to the number of plant tissue units such as plants, hills,
tillers, or spikelets that are injured, relative to the total number of
units assessed. Severity is the proportion (area or volume) of plant
tissue that is injured, relative to the total plant tissue considered
(Nutter et al., 1993).
Methods 1 and 2 are used separately or in combination for several different stresses (e.g. scale for leaf blast). With viral diseases and injuries caused by several physical stresses, severity with an arbitrary scale
indicating the degree of whole-plant symptom development is commonly used. Note: tolerance is commonly used in a vague sense. Tolerance actually refers to the ability of a plant to sustain injury while
maintaining the same level of performance (especially, its yield;
Zadoks and Schein, 1979).
3. Comparative reaction of test entries is taken in relation to that of
resistance and susceptible check varieties in making a final judgment
on a varietal reaction to stress (e.g. elongation). If stress level is extremely low on susceptible checks, the trial will not be used for further
analysis.
4. Actual measurement, counts or recording of dates for continuous
traits (e.g. yield and plant height) and with characters that cannot necessarily be measured by a scale (e.g. flowering).
Use of SES scoring system

Some of the entries in the INGER nurseries that are still in the F4 to F6
generations may still be segregating for some traits. In recording trait
expression, therefore, observations taken and data recorded should
represent responses of the majority of plants in a plot or row. The researcher, however, must use his/her personal judgment in determining whether the particular line or plot is segregating (write SEG), or if
it represents a non-uniform distribution of stress pressures. The most
susceptible score observed should be kept on record.
The general procedures for SES scoring or giving each item of the sample the appropriate class value or code number, are as follows: The
first step is to determine the presence or absence of stress as well as
the injury level of known local check cultivars usually exhibiting intermediate or low levels of resistance/tolerance (susceptible reaction). If
the intensity of injury is below the acceptable level, phenotypic differentiation of genetic resistance is difficult. The second step is to assess
the intensity of injury by actual measurement or visual estimation.
Visual estimation requires good training and experience in mental
calibration of various injury intensities. Pictorial guides or standard
diagrams are frequently used for consistent and precise evaluations.
Proper evaluation techniques should be employed to assess injury intensity of an entry, plot or field.
Different levels of injury intensity are sometimes described verbally.
Field key is a verbal and numerical description of disease severity class.
This often combines incidence and severity for rapid visual assessment
of a foliar disease on whole plants, in plots and in fields (Table 2). The
description may vary according to major varietal types and conditions
of cultivation.
For quantitative analysis, the actual measurement or visual estimation
of injury intensity of test entries must be recorded, and later converted
into scores for rapid grouping or selection. SES scales are mainly
for mass evaluation of genetic traits in order to group or
rank rice germplasm or breeding lines. Actual measurement of traits instead of SES scales should be used for detailed analysis.
The following table, which provides a powerful scale for assessing leaf
blast severity, illustrates the above point.
Table 2. Field key for visual assessment of leaf blast severity.a
Scale
Description
Diseased
Leaf Area
(%)
No typical susceptible lesion observed.
Rapid observation does not reveal leaf lesions, but

careful scrutiny of each row reveals few lesions.
Rapid detection detects a few lesions.
Several lesions are randomly scattered within a

plot, and the lesion number on an infected leaf
ranges from 1 to 4.
1-2
Upper leaves are uniformly dotted with blast lesions but without necrotic (brown) leaf tips. A few
to several leaves are brown.
3-7
Several to many lower leaves become necrotic

and few dead leaves are observed. Tips of several
upper leaves show brown color and begin to fold.
8-14
Lower leaves are uniformly exhibiting brown color

and several dead leaves are visible. Tip necrosis
of upper leaves is predominant.
15-24
Tips of most upper leaves are curling. Middle and

lower leaves are brown. Several plants or tillers
are stunted or dead.
25-39
Extensive leaf curling and browning of upper and

middle leaves are prevalent. Plants re generally
stunted and many plants are dead.
40-65
Majority of plants are severely stunted, brown and

dead. Only few to several plants have green
leaves with heavy infection.
>65
<0.3
0.3-0.9
This scale is applicable to microplot, and can be used for plants less than 40 days old.
(S. W. Ahn, IRRI, unpublished).
The above scale, which deals with a disease of rice, provides a good
example of the issues associated with field assessment of injuries. For
example, let us assume that three plots of the same genotype are assessed, and are classified 5, 7, and 2, respectively. This may happen
because of a number of reasons: (1) the pathogen spreads, and may do
so unevenly; (2) there is spatial heterogeneity in soil fertility that renders the considered genotype unevenly susceptible to the disease; or,
(3) inter-plot interferences occur: the first plot is surrounded by genotypes with average susceptibility, while the second plot neighbors a
very susceptible genotype, and the third is surrounded by genotypes
that are not susceptible to blast.
The three ratings, 5, 7, and 2, correspond to median severity values of
11.0, 32.0, and 0.6%, respectively. The mean severity of the three plots
(14.5%) would lead to categorize the considered genotype in class 6.
One could however be tempted to consider the average of the three
ratings (5, 7, 2), and thus erroneously categorize the genotype in class
4.
This example highlights a series of elements that must be considered:
First comes the difference between assessment (the assignment to a class) and measurement (the quantification) of injuries. Assessment classes should not be considered as continuous variables. This prevents the calculation of means of such
values, and even more so, of statistical analyses using the linear
model such as analysis of variance or regression. These conventional methods however can be used, but only after backtransformation of the class value before the calculation of
mean and other statistics. This, of course, is impossible for injuries caused by non-biological factors, such as, e.g., drought
injury.
Categorized variables are samples drawn from a frequency distribution. The latter can be summarized by its mode (that is,
the class most frequently encountered in a sample; Porkess,
1988), and the lowest and highest classes observed.
Field tests are conducted without control of a very large number of factors: the intensity of injuries may, for instance, vary
from season to season and may be spatially heterogeneously
distributed. This applies to both injuries caused by physical
factors and by pathogens or animal pests. Therefore, one must
bear in mind that these tests result, actually, in measurements
of susceptibility and not of resistance. In other words, while
high levels of injuries indicates susceptibility, observing low
levels of injury in a given genotype cannot be considered a
proof of resistance (Yuen and Forbes, 2009).

Spatial heterogeneity of injuries further compounds the difficulty of field testing. While this may be addressed in formal
experiments, simple tests where replications are few or absent
that is, where one assumes perfect homogeneity in space of
the likelihood of injury impose caution in data interpretation.
This remark applies, too, to both physical factors and disease or
animal pests.
Inter-plot interference (James et al., 1976), an old issue in field
trials with diseases and animal pests, is another element the
experimenter must bear in mind. When a large number of entries are being tested, chance may assign the individual position
of a given genotype next to very susceptible entries. This will
strongly increase the likelihood of injury on this entry to be
higher than expected, and thus to overestimate its susceptibility
(positive interference). If, on the other hand the same genotype
is surrounded by resistant materials, the likelihood of injury on
this genotype will be reduced, leading to underestimate its susceptibility. Inter-plot interference therefore can very strongly
reduce the accuracy of assessment. Inter-plot interference will
be very strong with highly mobile pathogens and animal pests
(e.g., blast, brown spot, leaf hoppers), while it will be much
weaker with pathogens and pests that disperse at small distances (e.g., sheath blight, mole cricket). Inter-plot interference
may, in part, be reduced by increasing plot size, or establishing
buffer between plots. Unfortunately, such options often may
not be considered. Occurrence of inter-plot interference therefore is one additional element for caution in interpreting results.
Standard area diagram

Direct visual estimation, although less laborious, can be inaccurate
(see below: precision and accuracy; James and Teng, 1979). Visual
injury assessment should be done only after suitable training of observers using standard area diagrams or pictorial guides. Diagrammatic illustrations of the grades distinguished (Fig. 1-5) are useful
tools and reference points for the calibration of the observers eyes.
Figure 1 shows four leaf sizes each with black areas representing 1, 2,
and 5% of the leaf area. These affected areas include the lesions and
adjacent chlorotic or necrotic tissues associated with the lesions. Figures 2 and 3 show 1, 5, 25 and 50% of leaf areas affected by the lesions.
Figures 4 and 5 are schematic drawings of the relative incidence in
field conditions.
For effective use of the diagrams in evaluating whole plots, sampling
techniques that optimize variance and cost are required. Estimates
are assigned either to classes or to their means (class mean) which are
multiplied with their frequencies to directly obtain the mean of the
sample.
Figure 1. This key can be used in assessing the severity on leaves.

Each of the 4 leaves have 10 divisions. The black areas represent
1, 2 and 5% of the leaf area. Reproduced from W.C. James, Canadian Plant Disease Survey, 51 (1971):39-64.
Figure 2. The index value and the corresponding levels of severity

for a leaf spot disease (i.e. brown spot, blast).
Figure 3. The index value and the corresponding levels of severity

for a leaf streak disease (i.e. narrow brown leaf spot, bacterial
leaf streak).
Figure 4. Schematic drawing showing percentage of plants in a

field plot with 4 levels of incidence.
Figure 5. Schematic drawing showing percentage of plants in a 2row field plot with 4 levels of incidence.
Considerations
There is a well-documented tendency to overestimate injuries
(Zadoks and Schein, 1979), whether expressed as severity or incidence. Therefore, one must carefully assess severity or incidence
before taking scores. Accuracy refers to the closeness of a sample
estimate (i.e. mean) to the true value of the injury assessed. Precision refers to the repeatability of independent observations, and can
be measured by, e.g., the coefficient of variation of repeated observations on the same sample. An ideal observation should both be accurate and precise. Very often, precision is (wrongly) over-emphasized
on accuracy in observations: In practice, a good observation needs to
be accurate, with a suitable level of precision. The reader is referred
to Nutter et al, 1993 for additional detail.
Sampling and estimation are integral components of an assessment
scheme. Sampling may not be a major concern if the area allotted to
each entry is small enough and if the injury is uniformly distributed
over space. For mass evaluation and quick selection, breeders often
use simple comparisons such as better than, equal to, and worse
than local check varieties or their mental image of standard or ideal
cultivars grown under the same environmental conditions. Observers may be reluctant, or cannot afford, to spend much time in measuring injuries that are not their primary concern, or in assessing material that is not of their immediate interest. However, accurate and
precise measurement through acceptable sampling and assessment
procedures is critical for genotype by environment interaction studies in multi-environment trials (METs). Other information on genotype by environment should also be collected for better analysis and
interpretation of evaluation results. These include soil and climatic
data, cultural practices, and characterization of biological components of the environment such as pathogens, insect pests or nematodes.
The training for injury assessment is essential, particularly if several
evaluators work in a joint program. Inter-evaluator reliability, that
is, the overall agreement among evaluators, is generally low at an
initial training assessment but increases substantially over repeated assessment practices.
11
DESCRIPTIONS and SCALES/CODES
Growth Stages of Rice Plants

When reporting results for specific
characters, use this code to identify the stage of plant
growth at which the observation was recorded.
CODE
1 Germination
2 Seedling
3 Tillering
Specific applications might be sequential data on dis4 Stem elongation
ease reaction for a season's record of epidemic buildup 5 Booting
(e.g. blast notes at growth stages 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8).
6 Heading
7 Milk stage
8 Dough stage
9 Mature grain
AGRONOMIC TRAITS
1
Seedling/Vegetative Vigor (Vg)
NOTE: Several factors may interact, influencing
seedling vigor (e.g. tillering ability, plant height,
leaf number, leaf area, leaf greenness, etc.). Use
this scale for evaluating genetic material and
varieties under stress and non-stress conditions.
At growth stage:
SCALE
1 Extra vigorous (very fast growing;
plants at 5-6 leaf stage have 2 or
more tillers in majority of population)
3 Vigorous (fast growing; plants at
4-5 stage have 1-2 tillers in majority of population)
5 Normal (plant at 4-leaf stage)
Seedling vigor: 2
Vegetative vigor: 3
7 Weak (plants somewhat stunted;

3-4 leaves; thin population; no
tiller formation)
9 Very weak (stunted growth; yellowing of leaves)
2
Tillering Ability (Ti)
NOTE: Environmental factors, nutrient supply,
and plant spacing can greatly influence the degree of tillering ability. The score should represent most plants within the plot.
At growth stage: 5
SCALE
1 Very high (more than 25 tillers/
plant)
3 Good (20/25 tillers/plant)
5 Medium (10-19 tillers/plant)
7 Low (5-9 tillers/plant)
9 Very low (less than 5 tillers/plant)
(Each plant should 20 x 20 cm hill spacing)
3
Culm Strength (Cs)
NOTE: Culm strength is first rated after heading
by gently pushing the tillers (30 cm from the
ground) back and forth a few times. This test
gives some indication of culm stiffness and
resilience. Final observation at maturity is made
to record standing position of plants.
At growth stage: 6-9
SCALE
1 Strong (no bending)
3 Moderately strong (most plants bending)
5 Intermediate (most plants moderately
bending)
7 Weak (most plants nearly flat)
9 Very weak (all plants flat)
4
Lodging Incidence (Lg)
NOTE: Indicate% of plants that lodged.
5
Plant Height (Ht)
NOTE: Use actual measurement (cm) from soil
surface to tip of the tallest panicle (awns excluded). For height measurements at other
growth stages, specify the stage. Record in
whole numbers (do not use decimals).
6
Leaf Senescence (Sen)
Estimated by observing all leaves below the
flag leaf for their retention of greenness.
At growth stage: 9 (at harvest)
SCALE
1 Semidwarf (lowland: less than 110
cm; upland: less than 90 cm)
5 Intermediate (lowland: 110-130 cm;
upland (90-125 cm)
9 Tall (lowland: more than 130 cm; upland: more than 125 cm)
SCALE
1 Very early (all leaves lost their green
colour before grain maturity)
3 Early (all leaves have lost their green
colour at harvest)
5 Intermediate (one leaf still green at
harvest)
7 Late (two or more leaves still green at
harvest)
9 Very late (all leaves still green at harvest)
13
7
Panicle Exsertion (Exs)
Extent to which the panicle is exserted above the
flag leaf sheath.
At growth stage: 7-9 (near maturity)
SCALE
1 Enclosed (panicle is partly or
entirely enclosed within the leaf
3 Partly exserted (panicle base is
slightly beneath the collar of the
flag leaf blade)
5 Just exserted (panicle base
coincides with the collar of the
flag leaf blade)
7 Moderately well exserted
(panicle base is above the collar
of the flag leaf blade)
9 Well exserted (panicle base
appears well above the collar of
the flag leaf blade)
8
Panicle Threshability (Thr)
NOTE: Evaluator should firmly grasp and pull
with his/her hand over the panicle and estimate
the percentage of shattered grains.
At growth stage: 9
9
Spikelet Fertility (SpFert)
NOTE: Evaluator should identify fertile spikelets
by pressing the spikelets with his/her fingers and
noting those that do not have grains.
At growth stage: 9
10
Phenotypic Acceptability (PAcp)
NOTE: Breeding objectives for each location
vary. The score should reflect the overall acceptability of the variety in the location where it is
being grown.
At growth stage: 9
11
Maturity (Mat)
NOTE: Use the number of days from seeding to
grain ripening (85% of grains on panicle are
mature).
At growth stage: 9
SCALE
1 Difficult (less than 1%)
3 Moderately difficult (1-5%)
5 Intermediate (6-15%)
7 Loose (26-50%)
9 Easy (51-100%)
SCALE
1 Highly fertile (>90%)
3 Fertile (75-89%)
5 Partly sterile (50-74%)
7 Highly sterile (<50% to trace)
9 0%
SCALE
1 Excellent
3 Good
5 Fair
7 Poor
9 Unacceptable
12
Grain Yield (Yld)
NOTE: Area harvested should not be less than
5 m2/plot (at least two border rows should be
discarded). Report yield in kilogram per hectare
on rough (paddy) rice at 14% moisture.
At growth stage: 9 on rough (paddy) rice
TRAITS FOR EVALUATION OF RICE HYBRIDS AND/OR PARENTAL LINES

20
Male Sterility Group
SCALE
1 Cytoplasmic-nuclear interaction
type
2 Thermosensitive-genic type
(TGMS)
3 Photoperiod-sensitive genic type
(PGMS)
4 Thermo-photoperiod genic type
(TPGMS)
5 Genetically engineered
(transgenic type)
6 Nuclear type
21
Degree of Male Sterility of Male Sterile Lines
A. Pollen sterility
It is observed under the microscope under magnification 10 x 10 after staining pollen
grains with 1% Iodine Potassium Iodide (IKI) solution. Samples for pollen are collected
from at least ten florets from individual plants at growth stage 6 and fixed in 70% alcohol.
Two to three anthers are extracted from five of the florets on a glass slide and pollen are
squeezed out with a spear-shaped needle in a drop of IKI solution. At least three microscopic fields are used to count sterile pollen grains (viz., unstained withered, unstained
spherical, and partially stained round) and fertile pollen grains (stained round); percentage
pollen sterility is computed as follows:
Number of (unstained withered +
unstained spherical)
+ partially stained round)
--------------------------------- x 100
Total number of pollen grains (including fertile)
Scale
1
3
5
7
9
Description
Completely sterile
Highly sterile
Sterile
Partially sterile
Partially fertile to fertile
Pollen Sterility (%)

100
99.0-99.9
95.0-98.9
70.0-94.9
<70
15
B. Spikelet sterility
This trait of a male sterile line is monitored at growth stages 8 and 9. Two primary panicles
of at least 50 plants of a male sterile line are bagged with glassine bags at growth stage 56 before their anthesis begins. Filled and unfilled spikelets of the bagged panicles are
counted.
Scale
1
3
5
7
9
Description
Completely sterile
Highly sterile
Sterile
Partially sterile
Partially fertile to fertile

100
99.0-99.9
95.0-98.9
70.0-94.9
<70
A male sterile line is considered sterile if its pollen and/or spikelet sterility ranges from
scale 1 to 3. Otherwise, it is considered unstable.
22
Abortion Pattern of Male Sterile Lines
It can be monitored at growth stage 5-6. Florets are collected and fixed in 3:1 Acetic acid:
alcohol solution. Pollen grains are squeezed out from some anthers in Acetocarmine stain
and observations are made on their staining behavior and number of nuclei visible in most
of the pollen grains.
Scale
1
Description
Pollen free

TGMS line Norin PL12
Abortion at uni-nucleate stage of pollen
"CMS-WA" type
Abortion at binucleate stage of pollen
"CMS-HL" type
Abortion at trinucleate stage of pollen
"CMS-boro" type
Abortion at later stage and pollen looks

like a fertile pollen
518A (O. nivara cytoplasm)
23
Extent of Outcrossing on Male Sterile Lines
This trait is monitored at growth stages 8-9 of a male sterile line grown in the field where
pollen supply at its flowering time is abundant. Seed set on the out-pollinated primary panicles is observed.
Scale
1
3
5
7
9
Seed set (%) on out-pollinated primary panicles

Above 30
20-29.9
10-19.9
5-9.9
0-4.9
24
Panicle Exsertion of Male Sterile Lines
This trait is monitored at growth stage 6 by observing the extent of coverage of panicles by
the flagleaf sheath.
Scale
1
3
5
7
9
Extent of coverage (%) of panicle by flagleaf sheath

0
1-10
11-25
26-40
Above 40
25
Stigma Exsertion of Male Sterile Lines
This trait is monitored at growth stage 6-7 by counting number of florets which have completed anthesis on a given day and the number of florets showing exserted stigma on one
or both sides of the florets and expressed as percent stigma exsertion.
Scale
1
3
5
7
9
Stigma exsertion
Above 70
41-70
21-40
11-20
0-10
26
Opening of Glume of Male Sterile Lines
This trait is monitored at growth stage 6 during the time (9:00AM - 12:00Noon) when rice
florets are blooming. Between 5-10 blooming florets of a male sterile line are collected from
different plants and angle of opening of glumes (viz., lemma and palea) is measured on
each floret. Following scale is used to classify male sterile lines on the basis of mean angle
of glume opening:
Scale
1
3
5
7
9
Angle of glume opening (o)

50 above
40-49
30-39
20-29
Below 20
27
Fertility Restoration in F1 Hybrids
This trait is monitored at growth stage 6 for pollen fertility and growth stage 8-9 for spikelet
fertility.
Pollen fertility is measured using 1% IKI solution and following the technique described
for evaluating male sterile lines. However, in this case, emphasis is one extent of fertile
pollen percentage. Spikelet fertility is monitored by counting the number of filled grains and
total spikelets per panicle and converted into percentage.
17
Scale
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
9

90 and above
80-89
90 and above
80-89
70-79
70-79
60-69
<60
Spikelet Fertility (%)

90 and above
90 and above
75-89
75-89
75-89
60-74
60-74
<60
INJURIES CAUSED BY DISEASES

30
Leaf Blast (Bl)
SCALE (for blast nursery)

0 No lesions observed
1 Small brown specks of pin-point size or
larger brown specks without sporulating
center
NOTE: Use this scale only for the nursery.
2 Small roundish to slightly elongated,
Actual estimation of blast affected leaf area (%)
necrotic gray spots, about 1-2 mm in
diameter, with a distinct brown margin.
is recommended for field assessment of blast
disease together with predominant lesion type
Lesions are mostly found on the lower
(see coding system for lesion type).
leaves.
Causal agent:
Magnaporthe grisea (Pyricularia oryzae)1
3 Lesion type is the same as in scale 2,

but a significant number of lesions are
on the upper leaves
Entries with scores 4-9 may also have lesions
of scale 1 or 2. In cases where the lesion develops only on the collar, joint of the leaf
sheath and the leaf blade, causing the leaf
blade to drop off, a scale unit of 4 is to be
given.
4 Typical susceptible blast lesions2 3 mm

or longer, infecting less than 4% of the
leaf area
5 Typical blast lesions infecting 4-10% of
the leaf area
6 Typical blast lesions infection 11-25%
of the leaf area
Entries with consistent rating, between 4 and

6 with overall average not higher than 5.5 may
have a good level of quantitative resistance.

of the leaf area
of the leaf area and many leaves are
dead
9 More than 75% leaf area affected
The imperfect (anamorphic) stage name.
CODE (Predominant lesion type)
Lesion type 5, 7, 9 (see code for predominant

lesion type.)
At growth stage: 2-3 (field or greenhouse)
1 Small brown specks of pinpoint size or

center
NOTE: Lesion types 5, 7 and 9 are considered
3 Small, roundish to slightly elongated

necrotic sporulating spots, about 1-2
mm in diameter with a distinct brown
margin or yellow halo
typical susceptible lesions.
5 Narrow or slightly elliptical lesions, 1-2

mm in breadth, more than 3 mm long
with a brown margin
7 Broad spindle-shaped lesion with yellow, brown, or purple margin
9 Rapidly coalescing small, whitish, grayish, or bluish lesions without distinct
margins
31
Panicle Blast (PB)
Causal agent:
Magnaporthe grisea (Pyricularia oryzae)
Symptoms
Dark, necrotic lesions cover partially or completely around the panicle base (node) or the
uppermost internode or the lower part of panicle axis. The panicles are greyish and have
either partially filled or unfilled grains.
NOTE: Based on the number of panicles with

each scale, compute panicle blast severity
(PBS) as follows
PBS =
SCALE (based on symptoms)

0 No visible lesion or observed lesions on
only a few pedicels
1 Lesions on several pedicels or secondary branches
3 Lesions on a few primary branches or
the middle part of panicle axis
5 Lesion partially around the base (node)
or the uppermost internode or the lower
part of panicle axis near the base
7 Lesion completely around panicle base
or uppermost internode3 or panicle axis
near base with more than 30% of filled
grains
9 Lesion completely around panicle base
or uppermost internode or the panicle
axis near the base with less than 30%
of filled grains.
(10xN1)+(20 x N3)+(40xN5)
+ (70xN7)+(100xN9)
Total no. of panicles observed
where N1-N9 are the number of panicles

with score 1-9.
At growth stage: 8
(20-25 days after heading).
Infection is also found on the lower part of the internode, which is covered by the leaf sheath.
19
NOTE: For the mass evaluation of panicle blast

incidence count only the number of panicles
with lesions covering completely around the
node, neck or lower part of the panicle axis
(symptom type 7-9).
SCALE (Incidence of infected panicles)

0
1
3
5
7
9
No disease observed
Less than 5%
5-10%
11-25%
26-50%
More than 50%
Infection is also found on the lower part of the

internode, which is covered by the leaf sheath.
32
Brown Spot (BS)
SCALE (Severity: % leaf area diseased)
Causal agent:
0 No disease observed
Cochliobolus miyabeanus (Bipolaris oryzae,

Drechslera oryzae).
Symptoms:
Typical leaf spots are small, oval or circular
and dark brown. Larger lesions usually have
the same color on the edges but have a pale,
usually grayish center. Most spots have a light
yellow halo around the outer edge.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Less than 1%
1-3%
4-5%
6-10%
11-15%
16-25%
26-50%
51-75%
76-100%
Note: This scale may be used for eyespot disease caused by Drechslera gigantea.
33
Narrow Brown Leaf Spot (NBLS)
Causal agent:
Sphaerulina oryzina (Cercospora janseana)
Bacterial Leaf Streak (BLS)

Causal agent:
Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola
Symptoms
Linear lesions with small bacterial exudates
evident.
NOTE: This scale may also be used for leaf
smut caused by Entyloma oryzae.

0
1
3
5
7
9
No disease observed
Less than 1%
1-5%
6-25%
26-50%
51-100%
SCALE (Affected leaf area)

1 Small brown specks of pin-point size or
center
3 Lesion type is the same as in scale 2,
but a significant number of lesions are
on the upper leaves
5 Typical blast lesions infecting 4-10% of
the leaf area
7 Typical blast lesions infection 26-50% of
9 More than 75% leaf area affected
34
Leaf Scald (Ls)
Causal agent:
Monographella albescens
(Microdochium oryzae)
Symptoms
The lesions occurs mostly near leaf tips, but
sometimes starts at the margin of the blade and
develops into large ellipsoid areas encircled by
dark-brown, narrow bands accompanied by a
light-brown halo.

1 Less than 1% (apical lesions)
3 1-5% (apical lesions)
5 6-25% (apical and some marginal lesions)
7 26-50% (apical and marginal lesions)
9 51-100% (apical and marginal lesions)
35
Bacterial Blight (BB)
Causal agent:
Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae.
Symptoms Lesions usually start near the leaf
tips or leaf margins or both, and extend down
the outer edge(s). Young lesions are pale
green to grayish green, later turning yellow to
gray (dead) with time. In very susceptible varieties, lesions may extend to the entire leaf
length into the leaf sheath. Kresek or seedling
blight causes wilting and death of the plants.
At growth stage:
3-4 kresek, (greenhouse evaluation of leaf
blight)
5-8 (leaf blight)
SCALE (greenhouse test, severity: %

leaf area diseased)
2 Less than 1%
3 1-3%
4 4-5%
5 11-15%
6 16-25%
7 26-50%
8 51-75%
9 76-100%
SCALE (field test, severity: % leaf area
diseased)
1
3
5
7
9
1-5%
6-12%
13-25%
26-50%
51-100%
NOTE: In both seedling and field tests, folded

young leaves should not be inoculated. Old or
leaves with symptom of nutrient deficiency or other
diseases should also be avoided for inoculation.
36
Rice Diseases caused by Viruses and Mycoplasma-like Organisms (MLO)
The reaction of a certain genotype to rice virus
infection can be assessed by a skilled worker
based on visible symptoms after inoculation
under natural conditions (in a field), or under
controlled conditions (in a greenhouse). The
factors needed for a successful test are the
presence of virus sources and insect vectors,
inoculation at the susceptible growth stage of
the test plants and favorable environmental
conditions.
SCALE (Incidence: % plants or hills

showing symptoms)
0
1
3
5
7
No symptom observed
1-10%
11-30%
31-50%
51-70%
9 71-100%
21
Field test:
Screening of test materials, notably breeding lines, can be done in the field and their reaction
to virus infection can be assessed on a scale of 0-9 based on the percentage of infection
observed.
Greenhouse test:
Field tests generally select vector resistance and are not appropriate for selecting virus resistance. Resistance to the virus can be assessed in the greenhouse where factors needed for
infection can be manipulated. Inoculation using a high number of vectors is desired and the
susceptible check would be also useful as a reference for measuring plant height. Since some
fertilizers might affect symptoms, it is recommended not to use any during the experiment. A
disease index (DI) for the genotype, which would represent both disease incidence and symptom severity, can be used as an indicator for virus resistance in a greenhouse test. DI can be
calculated as:
DI =
n(3) + n(5) + n(7) + n(9)
tn
Where: n(3), n(5), n(7), and n(9) = number of plants showing a reaction in a scale (3), (5), (7),
and (9) respectively.
tn = total number of plants scored
The resulting DI can be classified as:
DI
0-3
4-6
7-9
REACTION
Resistant/tolerant
Moderate
Susceptible
For further confirmation, test materials with DI rating of 0-3 may be tested by forced inoculation using different number of vectors, at different plant growth stages, and may be assayed
serologically to differentiate between virus resistance and tolerance.
Rice Tungro Disease

Causal agent:
Rice tungro bacilliform virus (RTBV) and rice tungro
spherical virus (RTSV)
Symptoms:
Yellow to yellow orange leaves, stunting, and slightly
reduced tillering.
At growth stages:
2 (for the greenhouse)
3-5 (for the field)
Score and calculate DI at 4 weeks after inoculation
in the greenhouse.
SCALE
1 No symptom observed
3 1-10% height reduction, no distinct
yellow to yellow orange leaf discoloration
5 11-30% height reduction, no distinct yellow to yellow orange leaf
discoloration
7 31-50% height reduction, with
distinct yellow to yellow orange
leaf discoloration
9 More than 50% height reduction,
with distinct yellow to yellow orange discoloration
Rice Grassy Stunt 1 and 2 Disease

Causal agent:
Rice grassy stunt virus 1 (RGSV1) and rice
grassy stunt virus 2 (RGSV2)
Symptoms
RGSV1 - Severe stunting, excessive tillering, pale
green to yellow and narrow leaves with small
rusty spots.
RGSV2-Severe stunting, excessive tillering, yellow to orange and narrow leaves with small and
rusty spots.
At growth stages:
2-3 (for the greenhouse)
4-6 (for the field)
SCALE (RGSV1)
3 Pale green and slightly narrow
leaves, no height reduction and
with few small tillers
5 Pale green and slightly narrow
leaves, 1-10% height reduction,
and with numerous small tillers
7 Pale green to yellow and narrow
leaves with some rusty spots, 1130% height reduction, and with
numerous small tillers
9 Pale green to yellow and narrow
leaves with numerous rusty
spots, more than 30% height
reduction and with numerous
small tillers
Score and calculate DI at 5 weeks after inoculation in the greenhouse.

SCALE (RGSV2)
3 Pale yellow and slightly narrow
leaves, no height reduction, and
with numerous small tillers.
5 Distinct yellow and narrow
leaves, 1-10% height reduction,
and with numerous small tillers.
7 Yellow to orange and narrow
leaves with some rusty spots, 1130% height reduction, and with
few small tillers.
9 Yellow to orange and narrow
leaves with numerous rusty
spots, >30% height reduction and
with few small tillers.
23
Rice Ragged Stunt Disease

Causal agent:
Rice ragged stunt virus (RRSV)
Symptoms:
Plants are stunted but remain dark green. Leaves
are ragged and twisted. Vein swelling on leaf
collar, leaf blades and leaf sheaths.
At growth stages:
2-3 (for the greenhouse)
4-6 (for the field)
Score and calculate DI at 5 weeks after inoculation
in the greenhouse.
Yellow Dwarf (YD)

Causal agent:
Mycoplasma
Symptoms:
Pale yellow, droopy leaves, excessive tillering and
stunting.
At growth stage:
4-6 (greenhouse, on secondary growth after cutting at the base)
On ratoon (fields)
Rice Yellow Mottle (RYM)

Causal agent:
Rice yellow mottle virus
Stunting, reduced tillering, mottling and yellowish

streaking of the leaves, delayed flowering or incomplete emergence of the panicles; in extreme
cases, death of plants.
At growth stage: 4-6 (field)
SCALE
3 0-10% height reduction, no
ragged/twisted leaf, small and
very few vein swelling usually on
leaf collar
5 0-10% height reduction, 1-2
leaves have ragged/twisted
symptoms, very few vein swelling
on leaf collar
7 11-30% height reduction, 3-4
leaves have ragged/twisted
symptoms, more vein swelling on
leaf collar, and some on leaf
blades and leaf sheaths
9 More than 30% height reduction,
most leaves have ragged/twisted
leaf symptoms, vein swelling
common on leaf sheaths and leaf
blades
SCALE (Severity)
1 None to few leaves slightly yellow; tillering, height and flowering
not affected
3 Leaves slightly yellow; plants
slightly stunted; flowering slightly
delayed
5 Leaves yellow; plants moderately
stunted; flowering delayed
7 Leaves yellow or orange yellow;
plants moderately stunted; flowering very much delayed
9 Leaves orange yellow or orange;
plants severely stunted, sometimes dead; flowering very much
delayed
SCALE (for field test)
3 Leaves green but with sparse dots
or streaks and less than 5% of
height reduction
5 Leaves green or pale green with
mottling and 6% to 25% of height
reduction, flowering slightly delayed
7 Leaves pale yellow or yellow and
26-75% of height reduction, flowering delayed
9 Leaves turn yellow or orange,
more than 75% of height reduction,
no flowering or some plants dead
Rice Hoja Blanca (RHBV)

Causal agent:
Rice hoja blanca virus
Symptoms:
Cream colored to yellow spots, elongating and
coalescing to form longitudinal yellowish green to
pals green striations. Streaks may coalesce to
cover the whole leaf. Brown and sterile glumes
with typical "parrot beak" shape of deformation.
SCALE (Incidence: % plants or

hills showing symptoms)
1 Less than 1%
3 1-10%
5 11-30%
7 31-60%
9 61-100%
At growth stages: 2-4 (leaf)

7-8 (panicle)
NOTE: To determine the degree of resistance in
fixed lines under field conditions, susceptible
check should have at least more than 50% infection.
37
Sheat Blight (ShB)
Causal agent:
Thanethoporus cucumeris (Rhizoctonia solani)
Symptoms:
Grayish-green lesions may enlarge and coalesce
with other lesions, mostly on lower leaf sheaths,
but occasionally on the leaves.
NOTE: The relative lesion height is the average
vertical height of the uppermost lesion on leaf or
sheath expressed as a percentage of the average
plant height.
SCALE (relative lesion height:

disease progress relative to plant
height; Ahn and Mew, 1986)
0 No infection observed
1 Lesions limited to lower 20% of
the plant height
3 20-30%
5 31-45%
7 46-65%
9 More than 65%
38
Sheath Rot (ShR)
Causal agent:
Sarocladium oryzae
Symptoms
Oblong or irregular brown to grey lesions on the
leaf sheath near panicle; sometimes coalescing to
prevent emergence of panicle.
SCALE (Incidence: % diseased

tillers)
1 Less than 1%
3 1-5%
5 6-25%
7 26-50%
9 51-100%
25
39
Grain Discoloration (Gd)
Causal agents:
Species of Sarocladium, Bipolaris, Alternaria,
Gerlachia, Fusarium, Phoma, Curvularia, Trichoconiella, and Pseudomonas.
Symptoms:
Darkening of glumes of spikelets, brown color to
black including rotten glumes caused by one or
more pathogens. Intensity ranges from sporadic
discoloration to discoloration of the whole glume.
SCALE (Grains with discolored

glumes)
0 No incidence
1 Less than 1%
3 1-5%
5 6-25%
7 26-50%
9 51-100%

NOTE: Severity of grain discoloration can be
estimated by counting grains with more than 25%
of glume surface affected.
40
False Smut (FSm)
Causal agent:
Ustilaginoidea virens
Symptoms:
Infected grains are transformed into yellowgreenish or greenish-black velvety-looking spore
balls.
At growth stage: 9
Kernel Smut (KSm)

Causal agent:
Tilletia barclayana
Symptoms:
Infected grains show minute black pustules or
streaks bursting through the glumes. In severe
infection, the rupturing glumes produce short
beak-like or spur-like growths.
At growth stage: 9
SCALE (Incidence: percentage of

infected florets)
1 Less than 1%
3 1-5%
5 6-25%
7 26-50%
9 51-100%
41
Udbatta Disease (UDb)
Causal agent:
Balansia oryzae-sativae (Ephelis oryzae)
Symptoms: A white mycelial mat ties the panicle
branches together so that they emerge as single,
small, cylindrical rods.
SCALE (Incidence: percent infected tillers)

1
5
9
Less than1%
1-25%
26-100%
Bakanae Disease (Bak)

Causal agent:
Giberella fujikuroi
Symptoms:
The plant elongates abnormally, has few tillers,
and usually dies before producing grains.
42
Stem Rot (SR)
Causal agent:
Magnaporthe salvinii (Nakatea sigmoidea, Sclerotium oryzae4) and Helminthosporium sigmoideum var. irregulare

infected tillers)
1 Less than 1%
3 1-5%
5 6-25%
Symptoms:
Dark lesions develop on the stems near the water
line. Small, dark bodies (sclerotia) develop,
weaken the stem and cause lodging.
7 26-50%
9 51-100%
43
Ufra (U)
Causal agent:

infected tillers)
The stem nematode Ditylenchus angustus

Symptom:s:
A leaf mottling or chlorotic discoloration in a
splash pattern at base of young leaves in stem
elongation or mid-tillering stage; brown stains
may develop on leaves and sheaths which later
intensify to a dark brown color. A characteristic
distortion consisting of twisting and withering of
young leaves. A distortion of panicles which either remain enclosed within a swollen sheath,
partially emerge but are twisted and with unfilled
grains, or emerge completely but with unfilled
grains and resembling a whitehead.
0 0%
Symptoms
(may or may not be
visible)
1 1-2%
(visible symptoms)
3 21-40%
(visible symptoms)
5 41-60%
(visible symptoms)
7 61-80%
(visible symptoms)
9 81-100%
(visible symptoms)

4
The sclerotial anamorph
27
INJURIES CAUSED BY RODENTS AND BIRDS

50
Rat Injury (RD)
Symptoms:
The tiller is cut at a 45 angle. Damage is typically
heavier in the center of a crop (stadium effect). A
tiller cut through by a rodent is likely to regrow; if
this is after maxi mum tillering then the regrown
tiller is unlikely to produce panicles prior to harvest.Often the regrown, but non productive, tillers
are not scored as rodent damage.

injured plants)
0 No injury observed
1 Less than 5%
5 6-25%
9 26-100%
Note: Since there is no genetic resistance to rats,

the damage can be quantified as it does not represent resistance.
51
Bird Injury (BD)
NOTE: Since there is no genetic resistance to
birds, the injury can be quantified as it does not
represent resistance.

injured panicles)
0 No injury observed
1 Less than 5%
5 6-25%
9 26-100%
INJURIES CAUSED BY INSECTS5

60
Brown Planthopper (BPH)
SCALE (For greenhouse test)
Causal agent:
0 No injury
Nilaparvata lugens
1 Very slight injury
Symptoms:
Partial to pronouncedyellowing and increasing
severity ofstunting. Extreme signs are wilting
todeath of plants. Infested areas in thefield may
be patchy.
3 First and 2nd leaves of most

plants partially yellowing
5 Pronounced yellowing and stunting or about 10 to 25% of the
plants wilting or dead and remaining plants severely stunted or
dying
At growth stage:
2 (greenhouse)
3-9 (field)
7 More than half of the plants

9 All plants dead
5
Detailed procedures for the evaluation for insect resistance in rice could be found in Genetic Evaluation for Insect Resistance in Rice by E. A. Heinrichs, et al. (1985), IRRI.
Test evaluation for resistance can be considered valid if hopper population is uniformly distributed at a high level across the screening box
or field. For field screening, a minimum of the
following hopper density on susceptible check is
necessary:
a. 10 hoppers/hill at 10-15 days after
transplanting
b. 25 hoppers/hiII at maximum tillering
c. 100 hoppers/hill at early booting stage
SCALE (For field test)

0 No injury
1 Slight yellowing of a few plants
3 Leaves partially yellow but with no
hopperburn
5 Leaves with pronounced yellowing
and stunting or wilting and 10-25%
of plants with hopperburn, remaining plants severely stunted
7 More than half the plants wilting or
with hopperburn, remaining plants
severely stunted
9 All plants dead
61
Green Leafhopper (GLH)
Causal agent:
Nephotettix spp.
Symptoms: Partial to pronounced yellowing and
increasing severity of stunting. Extreme signs are
wilting to death of plants. Infested areas in the
field may be patchy.
At growth stage: 2 (greenhouse)
3-9 (field)
SCALE
0
1
3
5
No injury
Very slight injury
First and 2nd leaves yellowing
All leaves yellow; pronounced
stunting or both
7 More than half the plants dead;
stunting or both remaining plants
wilting; severely stunted
9 All plants dead
62
Whitebacked Planthopper (WBPH)
Causal agent:
Sogatella furcifera
Symptoms
Partial to pronounced yellowing and increasing
severity of stunting. Extreme signs are wilting and
death of plants. Infested areas in the field may be
patchy.
At growth stage: 2 (greenhouse)
3-9 (field)
SCALE
0 No injury
1 Very slight injury
3 First and 2nd leaves with orange
tips; slight stunting
5 More than half the leaves with
yellow-orange tips; pronounced
stunting
7 More than half of plants dead;
remaining plants severely stunted
and wilted
9 All plants dead
29
Rice Delphacid (RDel)

Causal agent:
Tagosodes orizicolus
Symptoms
Similar to WBPHNOTE: The scale is based on
symptoms. Incidence of dead plants could be
considered for final evaluation.
At growth stage: 2 (greenhouse)2-6 (field)

0 No injury
1 Very slight injury/leaf discoloration
Very slight injury/leaf discoloration
5 Pronounced yellowing of leaves
and stunting, less than 50% of
plants dead
7 Strong yellowing of leaves and
pronounced stunting, greater than
50% of plants dead
9 All plants dead
63
Stem Borers (SB)
Causal agent:
Chilo suppressalis, (striped); C. polychrysus (dark
headed); Rupela albinella (South American
white); Scirpophaga incertulas (yellow); S. lnnotata (white); Sesamia inferens (pink); Maliarpha
separatella (African whiteheads); Diopsis
macrophthalma (Stalked-eyed fly); and several
other species.
At growth stage: 3-5 (deadhearts)
8-9 (whiteheads)
Deadhearts and whiteheads in the susceptible
check should average more than 20 and 10%,
respectively, of infested tillers for the test to be
considered valid. Percentage of susceptible check
should be recorded. Percentage of deadhearts
and 5 11-15% whiteheads is based on tiller count
and productive tillers (panicles), respectively. For
Diopsis spp., it is not necessary to estimate whiteheads since infestation occurs usually at growth
stages 2-4.
NOTE: Stem dissections from 10 hills of
susceptible checks are necessary at maximum
tillering, panicle initiation and late ripening, in
order to identify SB species and to assess more
accurately the actual incidence of stem injury.
SCALE (Deadhearts)
0 No injury
1 1-10%
3 11-20%
5 21-30%
7 31-60%
9 61% and above
For Maliarpha separatella, however, stem dissection is the only way to accurately estimate both
the injury and incidence. Ten to 50 hills are dissected and percentage infested tillers are rated in
accordance with the scale for deadhearts. Unlike
whiteheads, infested tillers do produce some
panicles and so the relationships between whiteheads/infested tillers and yield are not quite the
same.
SCALE (Whiteheads)
0 No injury
1 1-5%
3 6-10%
5 11-15%
7 16-25%
9 26% and above
For deepwater rice, make dissections of 20 or

more tillers per plot or row at growth stages 6-8
and count the numbers of infested (or injured)
tillers. Apply the above index using the numbers
of infested tillers in place of the numbers of deadhearts. Scoring for whiteheads is of little value in
deepwater rice.
64
Leaffolder (LF)
SCALE (Injured plants)

0 No injury
1 1-10%
3 11-20%
5 21-35%
7 36-50%
9 51-100%
Causal agent:
Cnaphalocrosis medinalis, Marasmia patnalis
Symptoms:
Larvae consume the leaf tissue except the epidermis, causing typical white streaks. They create a
leaf tube during later stages of feeding. Note:
Plant a susceptible and resistant check (if available) after every 10 test entries. Replicate test
entries three times if seed is available. Determine
the percentage of injured and folded leaves. Injured leaves of the susceptible check should average at least 40% for the test to be considered
valid. Use the following scale on the basis of the
converted figures to place percentage of injured
At growth stage: 2-3 (greenhouse)

3-9 (field)
Greenhouse screening
For greenhouse screening, consider both the % of leaves with injury and the extent of injury
on each leaf. For each entry, first examine all of the leaves and rate each one from 0-3 as
based on the extent of injury.
Grade
0
1
Injury
No injury
Up to 1/3 of leaf area scraped
1/3 to 1/2 of leaf area scraped
More than 1/2 of leaf area

scraped
31
Based on the number of leaves with each injury grade, compute as follows:
(No of leaves
with injury
grade of
2 x 100)2
(No of leaves
with injury
grade of
1 x 100)1
% Rating (R)=
(No of leaves
with injury
grade of
3 x 100)3
+
Total no.
of leaves
observed
+
Total no.
of leaves
observed
+ 6
Total no.
of leaves
observed
Calculate as above for each test entry and the susceptible check. Then adjust for extent of
injury in the susceptible check by:
Adjusted
% injury (D) =
rating
R of test entry
R of susc. check
x 100
The overall injury rating (D) is converted to a 0-9 scale.

Scale % Injury Rating (D)
0
No injury
1-10
11-30
31-50
51-75
more than 75
65
Gall Midge (GM)
Causal agent:
Orseolia oryzae
NOTE: For the field test to be valid more than
60% of the plants should be affected with not
less than 15% silver shoot in the susceptible
check. Similarly, 60% of the plants in susceptible check should show silver shoots under
greenhouse tests.
If any of the test entry in field evaluation exhibits injury less than 10% on plant basis, rate it in
0 category, since such injury could be due to
other reasons.
SCALE (Infected tillers in field test)

0 No injury
1 Less than 1%
3 1-5%
5 6-10%
7 11-25%
9 More than 25%
SCALE (Plants with silver shoots in

greenhouse test)
0 No injury
1 Less than 5%
3 6-10%
5 11-20%
7 21-50%
9 More than 50%
66
Caseworm (CW)
Causal agent:
SCALE (Scraping index)

0 No scraping
Nymphula depunctalis
Less than 1%
Symptoms:
Larvae feed on leaf tissue, leaving only the papery
upper epidermis.
1-10%
5
7
8
11-25%
26-50%
51-100%
67
Rice Whorl Maggot (RWM)
Causal agent:
Hydrellia philippina
Symptoms:
Leaf margin feeding causes conspicuous injury
and sometimes stunting of plants.
At growth stage: 3
68
Rice Bug (RB)
Causal agent:
Leptocorisa oratorius

0 No injury
1 Less than 2 leaves/hill injured
3 2 or more leaves/hill but less
than 1/3 of leaves injured
5
1/3 to 1/2 of leaves injured
More than 1/2 of the leaves injured with no broken leaves

More than 1/2 of the leaves injured with some broken leaves
SCALE Injured grains per panicle (%)

0
1
3
5
7
9
No injury
Less than 3
4-7
8-15
12-25
26-100
69
Thrips
Causal agent:
Stenchaetothrips biformis
SCALE
1 Rolling of terminal 1/3 area of 1st
leaf
3
Rolling of terminal 1/3-1/2 area

of 1st and 2nd leaves
Rolling of terminal 1/2 area of

1st, 2nd, and 3rd leaves;
7
9
yellowing of leaf tips

Rolling of entire length of all
leaves; pronounced yellowing
Complete plant wilting, followed
by severe yellowing and scorching
33
PHYSIOCHEMICAL STRESS
Problem Soils
70-71
Alkali Injury (Alk) and Salt Injury (Sal)
NOTE: Observe general growth conditions in
relation to standard resistant and susceptible
checks. Since some soil problems are very heterogeneous in the field, several replications may
be needed to obtain precise reading.
72
Iron Toxicity (FeTox)
SCALE (Alkali and salt injury)

1 Growth and tillering nearly normal
3 Growth nearly normal but there is
some reduction in tillering and
some leaves discolored6 (alkali)/
whitish and rolled (salt)
5 Growth and tillering reduced;
most leaves discolored (alkali)/
whitish and rolled (salt); only a
few elongating
7 Growth completely ceases; most
leaves dry; some plants dying
9 Almost all plants dead or dying
SCALE (Injured panicles)

0 Growth and tillering nearly normal
1 Growth and tillering nearly normal; reddish-brown spots or orange discoloration on tips of older
leaves
3 Growth and tillering nearly normal; older leaves reddish-brown,
purple, or orange yellow
5 Growth and tillering retarded;
many leaves discolored
7 Growth and tillering ceases; most
leaves discolored or dead
73
Phosphorus Deficiency (PDef)
SCALE (Relative tillers)

1 80-100%
3 60-79%
5 40-59%
7 20-39%
9 0-19%
Leaf is counted as discolored or dead if more than half of its area is discolored or dead.
Greenhouse (use the following equation):
Field (use the following equation):
73
Zinc Deficiency (ZDef)
No. of tillers in 0.5 ppm

P culture solution
No of tillers in 10 ppm
P culture solution
No. of tillers with no P
No of tillers
with 25 kgP/ha
X 100
X 100
SCALE
1 Growth and tillering nearly normal;
healthy
2 Growth and tillering nearly normal;
basal leaves slightly discolored
3 Stunting slight, tillering decreased,
some basal leaves brown or yellow
5 Growth and tillering severely retarded, about half of all leaves
brown or yellow
7 Growth and tillering ceases, most
leaves brown or yellow
TEMPERATURE
75
Cold Tolerance (Ctol)
NOTE: Observe differences in vigor along with
subtle changes in leaf color. The optimum time to
make observations would be the seedling, tillering, flowering, and mature stages.
SCALE (for seedlings) Temp:10C1

0-1 No damage to leaves, normal leaf
color (strongly tolerant)
2-3 Tip of leaves slightly dried, folded
and light green (tolerant)
4-5 Some seedlings moderately
folded and wilted, 30-50% seedlings dried, pale green to yellowish leaves (Moderately tolerant)
6-7 Seedlings severely rolled and
dried; reddish-brown leaves
(Sensitive)
8-9 Most seedlings dead and dying.
(Highly sensitive)
At growth stage: 1(seeding); 3-4 (vegetative);

5-9 (reproductive)
SCALE (vegetative) Temp:17-18C1
1-3 All leaves normal color (Tolerant)
4-6 Pale green leaves (moderately
tolerant)
7-9 Yellowing of leaves and stunted
growth (sensitive)
35
SCALE (reproductive/booting)
Temp:17-18C1
1-3 Normal growth, spikelet fertility

(>70%) (tolerant)
4-6 Heading delay, spikelet fertility
(11-69%) (moderately tolerant)
7-9 Reduced plant height, delayed
heading, high sterility (<10%)
(sensitive)
76
Heat Tolerance (Htol)
Note: Based on Spikelet Fertility (%)
SCALE (Spikelet fertility)

1 More than 80%
3 61-80%
5 41-60%
7 11-40%
9 Less than 11%
DROUGHT
80
Drought Sensitivity (DRS)
NOTE: Drought sensitivity is highly interactive
with crop phenology, plant growth prior to stress,
and timing, duration, and intensity of drought
stress.
SCALE (leaf rolling at vegetative

stage)
0 Leaves healthy
1 Leaves start to fold (shallow)
3 Leaves folding (deep V-shape)
5 Leaves fully cupped (U-shape)
For many soils, it takes at least 2 rainless weeks

to cause marked differences in drought sensitivity
during the vegetative stage and at least 7
rainless days during the reproductive stage to
cause severe drought injury.
Leaf rolling precedes leaf drying during drought.
Repeated ratings are recommended through
progress of the drought. Record the stage of
plant growth when the stress occurred and the
number of stress days.
7 Leaf margins touching (0-shape)

9 Leaves tightly rolled
Leaves tightly rolled
SCALE (leaf drying at vegetative

stage)
0 No symptoms
1 Slight tip drying
3 Tip drying extended up to
length in most leaves
5 One-fourth to 1/2 of all leaves
dried
7 More than 2/3 of all leaves fully
dried
9 All plants apparently dead.
SCALE (spikelet fertility)

1
More than 80%
3
61-80%
5
41-60%
7
11-40%
9
Less than 11%
Recovery (DRR)
NOTE: Scores are taken after 10 days following
soaking rain or watering. Indicate the degree of
stress before recovery.
SCALE (plants recovered)

1
90-100%
3
70-89%
5
40-69%
7
20-39%
9
0-19%
DEEPWATER
85
Elongation (Elon)
NOTE: Some rice can elongate and grow in areas
annually flooded to varying depths. The scale is
based on the performance of check varieties.
Specify water depth under which the data was

Elongation in deepwater
Scale Description
1
Best elongation response
3
Response better than that of elongating

semidwarf, but not as good as that of
the best local floating variety
Response similar to that of Elongating

semidwarf
Response better than that of the

nonelongating semidwarf, but not
Biological check
Best local floating variety
(i.e. Leb Mue Nahng 111)
Elongating semidwarf
(i.e. lR11141-6-1-4)
as good as that of elongating semidwarf

Poorest elongation, or none
Non-elongating semidwarf
(i.e. IR42)
37
86
Submergence Tolerance (Sub)
Greenhouse screening
For greenhouse screening count or % survival
(S) of test entries and resistant control entry
such as FR13A. Compute for % comparative
survival value as follows:
% S of entry
% S of control
SCALE (% comparative survival)

1 100
3 95-99
5 75-94
7 50-74
9 0-49
X 100
At growth stage: 2
Field evaluation
The period of submergence varies and often is
not under full experimental control. Record
actual % of plants that survived.
87
Kneeing Ability (KnA)
SCALE
1 Tiller angle greater than 45 for
50% of tillers
3 Tiller angle greater than 45 for
25% of tillers
5 Maximum tiller angle is less than
45 for 50% of tillers (Tiller angle
greater than 45 for 1 or 2 tillers)
7 Maximum tiller angle is less than
45 for 50% of tillers (Tiller angle
greater than 45 for 1 or 2 tillers)
9 No kneeing
MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS
90
Variety Group
Code
1 Indica
2 Temperate japonica (equivalent to old
japonica)
3 Tropical japonica (equivalent to old
javanica)
4 Aus
5 Aromatic (basmati-type)
6 Deepwater
7 Indica-Aus intermediates
8 Japonica intermediates
9 Japonica-aromatic intermediates
10 Other intermediates
7
The methodology described in this section is based on Descriptors of Rice Oryza sativa L. (IBPGR-IRRI
Advisory Committee, IRRI, 1980). Presence of different traits should be recorded as x indicating mixture.
91
Seedling Height (SH)
NOTE: Enter actual measurements of 10 seedlings in centimeters, from the base of the shoot to
the tip of the tallest leaf blade.
At growth stage: 2-3 (5-leaf stage)
92
Leaf Length (LL)
NOTE: Enter actual measurements, in centimeters of the leaf just below the flag leaf.
At growth stage: 6
93
Leaf Width (LW)
NOTE: Enter actual measurements, in centimeters of the widest portion of the leaf blade just
below the flag leaf.
At growth stage: 6
94
Leaf Blade Pubescence (LBP)
Methodology: Aside from ocular inspection, rub
fingers from the tip down on the leaf surface.
Presence of hairs on the blade surface are classified.
Code
1 Glabrous
2 Intermediate
3 Pubescent
95
Leaf Blade Color (LBC)
Code
1 Light green
2 Green
3 Dark Green
4 Purple tips
5 Purple margins
6 Purple blotch (purple mixed with
green)
7 Purple
39
96
Basal Leaf Sheath Color (BLSC)
At growth stage: 3-5 early to late vegetative
stage.
97
Leaf Angle/Attitude (LA)
NOTE: The angle of openness of the blade tip is
measured against the culm of the leaf below the
flag leaf.
Code
1 Green
2 Purple lines
3 Light purple
4 Purple
Code
1 Erect
5 Horizontal
9 Drooping
98
Flag Leaf Angle (FLA)
NOTE: Leaf angle is measured near the collar as
the angle of attachment between the flag leaf
blade and the main panicle axis.
Code
1 Erect
3 Intermediate
5 Horizontal
7 Descending
Sample size = 5
99
Ligule Length (LgL)
NOTE: Enter actual measurement of ligules
measured in millimeters from the base of the
collar to the tip.
Sample size = 5
100
Ligule Color (LgC)
101
Ligule Shape (LS)
Code
0 Absent (liguleless)
1 White
2 Purple lines
3 Purple
Code
0 Absent
1 Acute to acuminate
2 Cleft
3 Truncate
102
Collar Color (CC)
103
Auricle Color (AC)
Code
0 Absent (collarless)
1 Light Green
2 Green
3 Purple
Code
0 Absent (no auricles)
1 Light green
2 Purple
104
Culm Length (CL)
NOTE: Measure from soil surface to panicle
base in centimeters.
Sample size = 5
105
Culm Number (CmN)
NOTE: Enter actual count of the total number of
tillers on 5 plants after full heading. Specify if per
plant, hill or area.
106
Culm Angle (CmA)
Code
1 Erect (<30)
3 Intermediate (~45)
5 Open (~60)
7 Spreading (>60)
9 Procumbent (the culm or its
lower part rests on ground surface)
107
Diameter of Basal Internode (DBI)
NOTE: Enter actual measurements in millimeters
from the outer diameter of the culms at the basal
portion of the main culm.
Sample size = 3
41
108
Culm Internode Color (CmlC)
NOTE: The outer surface of the internodes on
the culm is recorded.
Code
1 Green
2 Light gold
3 Purple lines
4 Purple
109
Panicle Length (PnL)
NOTE: Enter actual measurements in centimeters from panicle base to tip.
At growth stage: 8
110
Panicle Type (PnT)
NOTE: Panicles are classified according to their
mode of branching, angle of primary branches,
and spikelet density.
Code
1 Compact
2 Intermediate
3 Open
At growth stage: 8
111
Secondary Branching of Panicles (PnBr)
At growth stage: 8
112
Panicle Axis (PnA)
113
Awning (An)
114
Awn Color (AnC)
At growth stage: 6
Code
0 Absent
1 Light
2 Heavy
3 Clustered
Code
1 Straight
2 Droopy
Code
0 Absent
1 Short and partly awned
5 Short and fully awned
7 Long and partly awned
9 Long and fully awned
Code
0 Awnless
1 Straw
2 Gold
3 Brown (tawny)
4 Red
5 Purple
6 Black
115
Apiculus Color (ApC)
116
Stigma Color (SgC)
NOTE: Stigma color is determined from blooming
spikelets (between 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.) with the aid
of a hand lens.
At growth stage: 6
117
Lemma and Palea Color (LmPC)
At growth stage: 9
118
Lemma and Palea Pubescence (LmPb)
119
Sterile Lemma Color (SLmc)
At growth stage: 9
120
Sterile Lemma Length (SLmL)
NOTE: Measurement is made on each of the two
sterile lemmas. The classification is based on 5grain sample.
At growth stage: 9
Code
1 White
2 Straw
3 Brown (tawny)
4 Red
5 Red apex
6 Purple
7 Purple apex
Code
1 White
2 Light green
3 Yellow
4 Light purple
5 Purple
Code
0 Straw
1 Gold and gold furrows on straw
background
2 Brown spots on straw
3 Brown furrows on straw
4 Brown (tawny)
5 Reddish to light purple
6 Purple spots on straw
7 Purple furrows on straw
8 Purple
9 Black
10 White
Code
1 Glabrous
2 Hairs on lemma keel
3 Hairs on upper portion
4 Short hairs
5 Long hairs (velvety)
Code
1 Straw (yellow)
2 Gold
3 Red
4 Purple
Code
0 Absent
1 Short (not longer than 1.5mm)
3 Medium (1.6-2.5 mm)
5 Long (longer than 2.5 mm but
shorter than the lemma)
7 Extra long (equal to or longer
than the lemma)
9 Asymmetrical
43
121
Grain Length (GrL)
NOTE: Enter the mean length in millimeters as
the distance from the base of the lowermost
sterile lemma to the tip (apiculus) of the fertile
lemma or palea. In the case of awned varieties,
the grain is measured to a point comparable to
the tip of the apiculus.
Sample size = 10
At growth stage: 9
122
Grain Width (GrW)
NOTE: Enter the actual measurement of width in
millimeters as the distance across the fertile
lemma and the palea at the widest point.
Sample size = 10
At growth stage: 9
GRAIN QUALITY
123
Endosperm Type (End)
NOTE: Classification is based on the staining
reaction of the cut surface of endosperm to weak
KI-I solution. Waxy starch stains brown; nonwaxy, blue black.
CODE
1 Non-glutinous (non-waxy)
2 Glutinous (waxy)
3 Indeterminate
Sample size: 5
At growth stage: 9
124
Chalkiness of Endosperm (Clk)
NOTE: Evaluate a representative milled sample
for the degree (extent) of chalkiness that will best
describe the sample with respect to (a) white
belly, (b) white center, (c) white back.
At growth stage: 9
SCALE (% of kernel area)

0 None
1 Small (less than 10%)
5 Medium (11% to 20%)
9 Large (more than 20%)
125
SCALE (Length)
Brown Rice Length (Len)

At growth stage: 9 (after dehulling, before milling)
1 Extra long (more than 7.5 mm)

3 Long (6.6 to 7.5 mm)
5 Medium (5.51 to 6.6 mm)
7 Short (5.5mm or less)
126
Brown Rice Shape (BrS)
(length-width ratio)
NOTE: Kernel shape can be easily estimated by
this method (avoid broken samples).
At growth stage: 9 (after harvesting, cleaning
and dehulling)
Scale
1
3
5
9
Shape
Slender
Medium
Bold
Round
Ratio
Over 3.0
2.1 to 3.0
1.1 to 2.0
Less than 1.1
127
100-grain Weight (GW)
NOTE: Enter measurements in grams of 100 welldeveloped whole grains, dried to 13% moisture
content, weighed on a precision balance.
At growth stage: 9
128
Seed Coat (bran) Color (SCC)
At growth stage: 9
Code
1 White
2 Light brown
3 Speckled brown
4 Brown
5 Red
6 Variable purple
7 Purple
129
Scent (Sct)
Code (At flowering stage or at

maturity - by cooking test)
0 Unscented
1 Lightly scented
2 Scented
45
130
Amylose Content of the Grain (Amy)
NOTE: Use standard laboratory procedure to
determine amylose content. Give amylose
content in actual percentage.
131
Alkali Digestion (AlkD)
(as an indication of gelatinization temperature)
NOTE: Place six milled-rice kernels in 10 ml
1.7% KOH in a shallow container and arrange them so that they do not touch. Let it
stand for 23 hours at 30C and score for
spreading.
At growth stage: 9 (after milling)
Code
1-Not affected but chalky
2-Swollen
3-Swollen with collar
incomplete or narrow
Alkali Digestion
Gelatinization
Temperature
Low
High
Low or intermediate
High or intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
High
Low
4-Swollen with collar

complete and wide
5-Split or segmented with
collar complete and wide
6-Dispersed merging
with collar
7-Completely dispersed
and cleared
132
Gel Consistency (GelC)
NOTE: Use standard laboratory
procedures to determine the gel
consistency.
At growth stage: 9 (after milling)
133
Brown Rice Protein (Prt)
Percent of total brown rice weight (at
14% moisture) to one decimal place.
At growth stage: 9 (after dehulling)
1
3
5
7
9
Scale (mm)
80-100
61-80
41-60
36-40
Less than 35
Gel Consistency type

Soft
Soft
Medium
Hard
Hard
UPOV DUST ASTERISKED CHARACTERS

The UPOV Test Guidelines for Rice (TGR) is being used by UPOV members in
conducting Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability Test (DUST), whose results serve as the
basis for granting plant variety protection. Distinctness is one of the requirements for granting protection to a new variety.
Of the 65 UPOV characters, 17 are important for the international harmonization
of variety descriptions (asterisked characters) and should always be examined for DUS
Testing.
The recommended method of observing the characters is indicated by the following keys:
MG
single measurement of a group of plants or parts of plants
MS
measurement of a number of individual plants or parts of plants
VG
visual assessment by a single observation of a group of plants or parts of

plants
visual assessment by observation of individual plants or parts of plants
VS
Note: The number that appears before each trait is the UPOV DUST Guideline characteristic number.
9
Leaf anthocyanin coloration of auricles (VS)
Measured at the beginning of booting stage
15
Flag leaf: attitude of blade (VG)
SCALE
1
absent
present
SCALE
(early observation)
erect
Measured at the beginning of anthesis
semi-erect
horizontal
recurved
erect
semi-erect
horizontal
recurved
47
16
Flag leaf: attitude of blade (VG)
SCALE
(late observation)
erect
Measured at the stage wherein terminal spikelets

have already ripened.
semi-erect
horizontal
recurved
19
Time of heading (number of days from
SCALE
seeding to 50% flowering) (VG)
very early
Measured when 50% of inflorescence have
early
already emerged.
medium
late
23
Lemma: anthocyanin coloration of apex (VS)
SCALE
(early observation)
absent or very weak
Measured when anthesis is halfway through.
weak
medium
strong
very strong
Apex
Lemma
Tip
Area below the

apex
Keel
Glume
24
Spikelet: color of stigma (VS)
Measured when anthesis is halfway through.
26
Non prostrate varieties only: Stem length
SCALE
1
white
light green
yellow
light purple
purple
SCALE
(excluding panicle) (VS)
very short
Measured at the beginning of milk development.
short
Measure (in cm) from ground level to base of
medium
panicle.
long
very long
27
Stem: anthocyanin coloration of nodes (VS)
Measured at the beginning of milk development.
30
Panicle: length of main axis (MS)
Measured during the beginning of milk development
to ripening stage. Measure form the base up to the tip
of the panicle.
34
Panicle: distribution of awns (VS)
Measured during the beginning of milk development
to ripening stage.
36
Spikelet: pubescence of lemma (VS)
SCALE
1
absent
present
SCALE
3
short
medium
long
SCALE
1
tip only
upper half only
whole length
SCALE
Measured at the beginning of anthesis to dough
absent or very weak
development.
weak
medium
strong
very strong
49
39
Panicle: curvature of main axis (VG)
SCALE
Measured at the stage wherein terminal spikelets
upright
have already ripened.
semi-upright
slightly drooping
strongly drooping
upright
semi-upright
slightly drooping
strongly drooping
42
Panicle: attitude of branches (VS)
SCALE
Measured at stage wherein terminal spikelets have already
erect
ripened. Samples are to be observed on a flat, horizontal
semi-erect
surface.
spreading
erect
semi-erect
spreading
58
Decorticated grain: length (MS)
SCALE
Measured at ripening, when the caryopsis is hard (can
short
no longer be dented by thumbnail). Measurements
medium
(in mm) should be done on dehulled grains using a
long
caliper. Record measurement up to two decimal

places.
60
Decorticated grain: shape (VS)
SCALE
no longer be dented by thumbnail). Length and width of
round
semi-round
dehulled or decorticated unpolished grains are measured
half spindle-shaped
(in mm) using a caliper and the ratio of the length over
spindle-shaped
the width is computed and is categorized as round, semi-
long spindle-shaped
round; half-spindle; spindle; long spindle or mixture.
51
61
Decorticated grain: color (VS)
SCALE
no longer be dented by thumbnail). Observe the color of
light brown
dehulled grains.
variegated brown
dark brown
light red
red
variegated purple
purple
dark purple/black
65
Decorticated grain: aroma (MG)
white
SCALE
absent or vry weak
no longer be dented by thumbnail). The main component
weak
of aroma in rice is the 2-acetyl-1pirroline (AcPy). To vapo-
strong
rize this chemical, 10 ml of 1.7% solution of KOH should

be added to 2 g of decorticated grains. The aroma, which
is similar to that in popcorn, is released within 10 minutes.
The level of expression is determined by comparison with
other varieties being evaluated.
53
Flood-prone
Level to slightly sloping or
depressed fields; more
than 10 consecutive days
of medium to very deep
flooding (50 to more than
300 cm) during crop
growth; rice transplanted
in puddled soil or direct
seeded on plowed dry
soil; aerobic to anaerobic
soil; soil salinity or toxicity
in tidal areas .
Irrigated
Leveled, bunded fields
with water control; rice
transplanted or direct
seeded on puddled soil;
shallow, flooded with anaerobic soil during crop
growth.
Rainfed lowland
Level to slightly sloping,
bunded fields; noncontinuous flooding of variable
depth and duration; water
level not exceeding 50 cm
for more than 10 consecutive days; rice transplanted in puddle soil or
direct seeded on puddled
or plowed dry soil; alternating aerobic to anaerobic soil of variable frequency and duration.
Upland
Level to steeply
sloping fields;
rarely flooded,
aerobic soil; rice
directly seeded on
plowed dry soil or
dibbled in wet nonpuddled soil
References
Ahn, S.W., Mew, T.W., 1986. Relation between rice sheath blight (ShB) and
yield. International Rice Research Newsletter 11:21-22.
Gomez, K. A. and Gomez, A. A. (1984). Statistical procedures for agricultural
research. 2nd ed. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. 680 pp.
Heinrichs, E. A., Medrano, F. G., and Rapusas, H. R. (1985). Genetic evaluation for insect resistance in rice. IRRI, Los Baos, Philippines. 356
pp.
IBPGR-IRRI Rice Advisory Committee (1980). Descriptors for rice Oryza sativa L. IRRI, Los Baos, Philippines. 21 pp.
International Rice Testing Program (1988). Standard Evaluation System for
Rice, 3rd ed. International Rice Research Institute, P.O. Box 933,
Manila, Philippines. 54 pp.
James, C.W. 1971. An illustrated series of assessment keys for plant diseases, their preparation and usage. Can. Plant Dis. Surv. 51:39-64.
James, C.W., Shih, C.S., Hogson, W.A., Callbeck, L.C., 1976. Representational errors due to Interplot interferences in field experiments with
late blight of potato. Phytopathology 66:695-700.
James, C.W., Teng, P.S., 1979. The quantification of production constraints
associated wit plant diseases. In: Advances in Applied Biology, Vol.
3. Coaker, T.H., Ed. Academic Press, London.
Nutter, F.W., Teng, P.S., Royer, M.H., 1993. Terms and concepts for yield,
crop loss, and disease thresholds. Plant Disease 77:211-215.
Porkess, R., 1988. Dictionary of Statistics. Collins, Glasgow, 267p.
Yuen, J.E., Forbes, G.A., 2009. Estimating the level of susceptibility to Phytophthora infestans in potato genotypes. Phytopahology 99:782-786.
Zadoks, I. C. and Schlein, R. D. (1979). Epidemiology and plant disease
management. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. 427 pp.
55

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5th Edition

P.O. Box 933, 1099 Manila, Philippines

Use of SES scoring system

Standard area diagram

Tillering Ability (Ti)

Culm Strength (Cs)

Lodging Incidence (Lg)

Plant Height (Ht)

Leaf Senescence (Sen)

Panicle Exsertion (Exs)

Spikelet Fertility (SpFert)

Phenotypic Acceptability (PAcp)

Grain Yield (Yld)

TRAITS FOR EVALUATION OF RICE HYBRIDS AND/OR PARENTAL LINES

Degree of Male Sterility of Male Sterile Lines

Abortion Pattern of Male Sterile Line

Extent of Outcrossing on Male Sterile Lines

Panicle Exsertion of Male Sterile Lines

Stigma Exsertion in Male Sterile Lines

Opening of Glume of Male Sterile Lines

Fertility Restoration in F1 Hybrids

INJURIES CAUSED BY DISEASES

Panicle Blast (PB)

Brown Spot (BS)

Narrow Brown Leaf Spot (NBLS)

Bacterial Leaf Streak (BLS)

Leaf Scald (LSc)

Bacterial Blight (BB)

Rice Diseases caused by Viruses and Mycoplasma-Like

Rice Grassy Stunt 1 and 2 Disease

Rice Ragged Stunt Disease

Yellow Dwarf (YD)

Rice Yellow Mottle (RYMV)

Rice Hoja Blanca (RHBV)

Sheath Blight (ShB)

Sheath Rot (ShR)

Grain Discoloration (Gd)

False Smut (FSm)

Kernel Smut (KSm)

Udbatta Disease (UDb)

Bakanae Disease (Bak)

Stem Rot (SR)

INJURIES CAUSED BY RODENTS AND BIRDS

Bird Injury (BD)

INJURIES CAUSED BY INSECT

Green Leafhopper (GLH)

Whitebacked Planthopper (WBPH)

Rice Delphacid (RDel)

Stem Borers (SB)

Gall Midge (GM)

Rice Whorl Maggot (RWM)

Rice Bug (RB)

Alkali Injury (Alk) and Salt Injury (Sal)

Iron Toxicity (FeTox)

Phosphorus Deficiency (PDef)

Zinc Deficiency (ZDef)

Heat Tolerance (HTol)

Submergence Tolerance (Sub)

Kneeing Ability (KnA)