The genus Oryza contains two cultivated and 21 wild species, and four of these wild species originated from South and Central America. Among these, the only diploid species, compatible in crossing experiments with the cultivated O. sativa L. is O. glumaepatula Steud. The objective of this research was to characterize with morpho-agronomic traits eight populations of Oryza glumaepatula, collected at different river basins in Brazil. The experiment was conducted in greenhouse, using randomized blocks with eight treatments (populations) and six repetitions, a total of 24 plants per population. Three agronomic and 18 morphological traits were evaluated. Data were analyzed using univariate and multivariate statistics. Results showed significant differences (P<0,01) among populations for all traits, indicating a great genetic variability for these eight O. glumaepatula populations. The principal component analysis displayed similar results to the cluster analysis, which classified the populations in four groups: one group with five Amazonian populations, another group with a single Rio Negro population, and two other groups for each population of Rio Xingu and Rio Paraguai, in the Pantanal region. The most promising population exhibiting desirable agronomic traits was PG-4, originated from the Pantanal Matogrossense, with highest seed yield and tiller number, followed by JA-4 population, from Rio Japura.
agronomic characterization; genetic diversity; morphological characterization; Oryza glumaepatula; wild rice
