Effect of Drought Stress Induced by Polyethylene Glycol on Germination and Seedling Establishment in a Recombinant Inbred Line Population of Rice

By : Harjot Singh Gurm, Seema Bedi, Gurpreet Kaur

Page No: 53-63

Abstract
Drought is a world-wide problem that seriously influences plant growth and development. Rice as a submerged crop is particularly susceptible to drought stress. In the present investigation, seeds of a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population of rice (Oryza sativa L.) were raised under laboratory conditions at 35°C, 16h light and 8h dark. Germination, seedling establishment, physiological and biochemical traits associated with drought stress tolerance were studied. Twenty RILs, their parents (PR-120 and UPLRi7) and four checks (IR-64, APO, CT-6510 and BM-370) were tested for drought tolerance at two stress levels of -0.4Mpa and -0.6Mpa respectively induced by polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000). Germination percentage, germination index, seed metabolic efficiency, seedling length and total chlorophyll contents decreased to varying degree with an increase in drought stress levels.

Authors :
Harjot Singh Gurm, Seema Bedi and Gurpreet Kaur : Department of Botany and School of Agricultural Biotechnology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana – 141 004