Combining ability studies for grain yield and contributing characters from line × tester mating design involving three stable CMS and 18 well adapted high yielding varieties as the testers showed importance of both additive and non-additive genetic variance with preponderance of the latter in their expression. General combining ability effects indicated CMS IR 46820A as the best combiner followed by ZS 97A and V20A, all being average combiners for grain yield/plant. Among the testers, IR 36 was the best combiner for most

characters including grain yield. Based on SCA effects, the most promising were V 20A/Suweon 325R, ZS 97A/ UPR 231-28-1-2, IR 46830A/BG 367-4 and V20A/Sarjoo 52 for grain yield. Most of these combinations involved average/good general combiner parents into them and high per se performance and these are suggested for exploitation in hybrid/recombination breeding.