Evaluation of Non-Aromatic Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Cultivars for NaCl Tolerance under Hydroponic Conditions

Abstract

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the most important cereal crop in the world and it is used as a staple food for over one-third world’s population. Salinity is one of the major abiotic stresses, which is reducing the yield of rice crop in the world. The tolerance level of five native non-aromatic, coarse rice cultivars (IR-6, IR-8, DR-82, DR-83 and DR-92) was tested in the current study. A local nursery was established for each cultivar and healthy seedlings were shifted in isolated hydroponic plastic tubs containing the Hoagland solution and 0 (control), 40, 80, 120 and 160 mM of NaCl concentrations. Amongst the five rice cultivars, DR-92 performed better in terms of survival percentage, average plant height, shoot dry weight, percent reduction over control (PROC) for plant height and shoot dry weight, the accumulation of less Na+ and more K+ as well as the higher K+/Na+ ratio in shoot dry matter, than rest of the cultivars at low to high salt-stress (NaCl) conditions. The results show that the non-aromatic rice cultivar DR-92 can survive and give better yield in moderately (40-120 mM NaCl) saline soils.