Technical Abstract: Indica rice (Oryza sativa L.) is needed to increase genetic diversity in the U.S. cultivars and resistant germplasm is needed to control newly occurred races of blast disease (Magnaporthe oryzae). ‘Rondo’ rice, a long grain cultivar meeting these needs, was developed by the USDA-ARS through mutation breeding from a Chinese indica germplasm ‘4484’ (PI 615022). As a result, Rondo has indica origin which is far away from all the U.S. cultivars. Rondo is resistant to all major races of blast disease currently identified in the U.S. including TM2 and IB33, two newly occurred races and other five diseases in rice. Among resistance genes for blast, only Pi-b is identified in Rondo, indicating that it may possess other novel gene(s) for the disease. The Uniform Rice Research Nursery (URRN) jointly in five southern states demonstrated that Rondo yields similarly with Francis, Wells and Cocodrie, top yielder in the U.S. Cereal quality and genomic analyses indicated that Rondo has the same parboiling, processing, and canning quality as Dixiebelle and Sabine, which have been accepted by the processing industry, although it can also be used as regularly conventional long grain rice. Its head rice yield appears lower than other cultivars sometimes, but this should be less of a concern when it is parboiled. In conclusion, Rondo is a long gain indica cultivar with high yield potential, a complete package of disease resistance and premium processing quality.