Pyramiding blast resistance genes Pid3 and Pik-zh into a novel male sterile line Chuangyuan A for hybrid rice breeding.

Rice blast is one of the most important diseases in rice production and poses a serious threat to rice production worldwide. Large-scale and long-term planting of rice varieties with a single resistance gene usually leads to losing resistance. Molecular marker-assisted selection is one of the most effective ways to control rice blast. In this study, the maintainer line 107B carrying Pid3 and the maintainer line 253B carrying Pik-zh were used as donors, and individual strains of each generation were analyzed and identified by hybridization and marker-assisted selection (MAS). Through field planting and investigation, the fertility, main agronomic traits, combining ability, and heterosis of the Chuangyuan A were systematically analyzed. The results showed that in this study, a new three-line sterile line Chuangyuan A containing both Pid3 and Pik-zh was cultivated, and the indoor and field indirect bacteria showed that the sterile line was resistant to blast. The sterile rate and sterility of Chuangyuan A were 100%, and the stigma exposure rate was 64.26%. Heterosis analysis showed that the yield of the combination prepared by Chuangyuan A was higher than that of the control Yiyou 673, which had good potential for production and application. In this study, Chuangyuan A with high blast resistance, stable sterility, high stigma exposure, and excellent agronomic and yield traits was developed by molecular marker-assisted breeding technique, which realized the directed improvement of blast resistance of the sterile line and created a new parent material for 3-line hybrid rice breeding. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11032-025-01629-2.