BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF RICE (ORYZA SATIVA L.) FOR FOSTERING PRODUCTIVITY UNDER MOISTURE DEFICIT CONDITIONSRAJKUMARI BHOL, JYOTI PRAKASH SAHOO, ANITA MOHAPATRA AND NIRANJAN MOHANTYAbstract Two sets of experiments were conducted one in laboratory, and the other in field during Rabi season 2011 & 2012-13 with 5 rice varieties viz. Mandakini, Sahabhagi Dhan, Parijat, Annada & Anjali in Chiplima farm to assess the efficiency and efficacy of moisture stress for their relative tolerance. The field studies were conducted taking 35 treatments laid out in split plot design with 3 replications with 7 combinations of drought stress comprising stress at 3 different stages of crop growth i.e. tillering, panicle initiation and flowering. Chl-a,Chl-b, Total Chlorophyll content and CSI also decreased on account of moisture stress in all the varieties. The reduction in value of these characters was lower in tolerant varieties compared to the susceptible ones. When the moisture stress was imposed the NR activity decreased irrespective of the stage of the growth and the varieties. The tolerant variety Anjali recorded the highest NR activity in stress conditions compared to others. In contrast the proline content was found to accumulate more in case of susceptible varieties than the tolerant varieties. The N, P, K content of the shoot was decreased in response to imposition of moisture stress at all the stages of growth irrespective of the varieties. |