The researchers studied six different types of rice plants to understand how certain traits are inherited across generations. They found that the traits related to yield and plant characteristics are controlled by a combination of genetic factors, including additive, dominance, and epistasis interactions. This means that the traits are influenced by a mix of genes working together in complex ways. The study showed that the inheritance of traits like days to flowering, plant height, grain yield, and protein content in rice involves a combination of different genetic effects.