Five rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars (N22, Amber, Moroberekan, Kinandang Patong, and Azucena) underwent path coefficient analysis across three plant spacings (15 cm × 15 cm, 20 cm × 20 cm, and 25 cm× 25 cm) in the summer of 2017 at the College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, University of Baghdad, Al-Jadriya, Iraq. The experiment proceeded in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with a split-plot arrangement and three replications. The main plots included three planting distances, and the subplot comprised five varieties. The traits studied were plant height, flag leaf area, number of tillers, panicle number, length and branches, grains per panicle, 1000-grain weight, and the percentage of unfilled grains. The results showed significant (P ≤ 0.05) differences between direct and indirect and total effects. The studied traits provided negative values for the total effects except for the number of tillers and the number of panicles per plant, as these two traits reached 1.0938 and 1.0798, respectively. With the second plant spacing of 20 cm × 20 cm, the traits: plant height, number of tillers, number of panicles, and panicle length, showed the total positive effects, ranging from 0.2803 to 0.6606, with the remaining traits enunciated negative values. For the third plant spacing of 25 cm × 25 cm, the traits: panicle length, number of tillers, grains per panicle, and 1000- grain weight, exhibited positive values for the total effects, ranging from 0.623 to 1.1593.
Rice (Oryza sativa L.), path coefficient analysis, correlation coefficient, genetic variability, plant spacing, morphological and yield-related traits, grain yield
Significant variations among direct and indirect effects of various rice traits indicate that the panicle length, number of tillers, grains per panicle, and 1000-grain weight with a plant spacing of 25 cm × 25 cm could serve as vital selection criteria for improving the grain yield in rice.