Evaluating the Performance of Hybrid Rice Varieties Under Commercial Production Conditions in Kebbi State

Hybrid rice varieties offer significant yield potential advantages over open-pollinated varieties, but their performance and economic viability under commercial production conditions in the Nigerian rice belt require independent professional evaluation beyond seed company data to inform government variety promotion policy. This study evaluated six hybrid rice varieties (three from private seed companies and three from WARDA-IITA collaboration) under commercial farming conditions across 18 farmer fields in Argungu and Suru LGAs, Kebbi State, during the 2023 rainy season. An evaluation design with each variety grown on three farms managed by experienced rice farmers was used. Grain yield, milling outturn, head rice percentage, crop maturity period, disease susceptibility (blast and bacterial leaf blight), and net return to farmer were measured. Results showed that hybrid variety HC5 produced the highest grain yield (7.82 tonnes per hectare) and milling outturn (68.4 percent), significantly above the best open-pollinated check variety FARO 44 (5.71 t ha-1 and 64.1 percent respectively). Net return calculations accounting for higher hybrid seed costs showed that HC5 generated 42 percent more net income per hectare than FARO 44. However, HC5 showed moderate blast susceptibility (score 4 on a 0-to-9 scale) requiring one additional fungicide application. The study recommends HC5 for commercialisation in Kebbi State wet season production after completing national performance trial requirements at NASC and recommends NASC fast-track the remaining registration steps.

Keywords: hybrid rice, variety evaluation, Kebbi State, rice productivity, commercial production