Rice (Oryza sativa L.) production is vital to Indonesia and plays a key role as a staple food; however, its sustainable production faces threats from climate change. Genetic variability is crucial for developing environment-resilient rice cultivars. The following research aimed to evaluate six advanced F7 populations in comparison with three check cultivars using SSR primers. The experiment layout was in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The results revealed SSR markers showed higher genetic similarity than morphological traits, and leaf length and flag leaf length contributed most to variability. The SSR primer CMCT505 showed the highest polymorphism, with a PIC value of 0.6. The correlation between morphological traits and SSR markers provided a matrix correlation of 0.41483, Z = 22.3636, and P = 0.9883, suggesting a nonsignificant positive correlation. Principal component analysis (PCA) explained 87.56% of the total genetic variability, and leaf length and flag leaf length contributed considerably. Yield evaluation further revealed that F7 4-21-11-23-3-2 attained the maximum yield (13.51 t ha⁻¹), exceeding all three check cultivars. The correlation between SSR markers and morphological traits revealed a moderate relationship, indicating that one of the markers was better at explaining genetic variability.

Keywords: Rice (O. sativa L.), genetic variability, morphological traits, yield components, SSR markers

Key findings: In studying rice (O. sativa L.) advanced populations in comparison with three check cultivars using SSR primers, PCA explained 87.56% of the total genetic variability, and the traits of leaf length and flag leaf length contributed significantly. The SSR primer CMCT505 appeared to be the most informative with a PIC value of 0.6. Among the advanced populations, F7 4-21-11-23-3-2 produced the highest grain yield (13.51 t ha⁻¹), confirming its breeding value.