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Terminal drought stress is one of the restrictive factors in rice production and is expected to upsurge under the current situation of climate change. The study evaluated the performance of 2030 rice genotypes under continuous drought stress conditions based on days to flowering (DF). The genotypes under augmented randomized complete block design were sown in May/June of 2017 and 2018 in the field with movable rainout that resulted in huge genetic diversity among the accessions. Descriptive statistics confirmed clear variation among accessions on growth duration, plant height to leaf, plant height to panicle, and germination percentage. Correlation, chemometric, and agglomerative hierarchical cluster analyses were performed that categorized the germplasm into 10 groups. Genotypes in clusters VIII and IX (drought-resistant) revealed better agronomic performance in terms of reduced days to flowering, but conversely taller plant height and higher maturity (%) under severe stress. Genotypes in clusters IV, V, and X were discovered to be drought-susceptible. The screened genotypes like Longjing 12, Longdun 102, Yanjing 22, Liaojing 27, Xiaohongbandao, Songjing 17, and Zaoshuqingsen can be utilized in rice breeding improvement programs for drought tolerance in terms of severe continuous drought, as well as terminal drought stress.

In worldwide production, rice is the second-most-grown crop. It is considered a staple food for many populations and, if naturally enriched in Se, has a huge potential to reduce nutrient deficiencies in foodstuff for human consumption. This study aimed to develop an agronomic itinerary for Se biofortification of Oryza sativa L. (Poaceae) and assess potential physicochemical deviations. Trials were implemented in rice paddy field with known soil and water characteristics and two genotypes resulting from genetic breeding (OP1505 and OP1509) were selected for evaluation. Plants were sprayed at booting, anthesis and milky grain phases with two different foliar fertilizers (sodium selenate and sodium selenite) at different concentrations (25, 50, 75 and 100 g Se&middot, ha&minus, 1). After grain harvesting, the application of selenate showed 4.9&ndash, 7.1 fold increases, whereas selenite increased 5.9&ndash, 8.4-fold in OP1509 and OP1505, respectively. In brown grain, it was found that in the highest treatment selenate or selenite triggered much higher Se accumulation in OP1505 relatively to OP1509, and that no relevant variation was found with selenate or selenite spraying in each genotype. Total protein increased exponentially in OP1505 genotype when selenite was applied, and higher dosage of Se also increased grain weight and total protein content. It was concluded that, through agronomic biofortification, rice grain can be enriched with Se without impairing its quality, thus highlighting its value in general for the industry and consumers with special needs.

Experimental studies were conducted to estimate the possible damage caused to ten rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes of Pakistan by tropospheric ozone. The experimental site is located at 31.4504° N and 73.1350° E, at an altitude of 184 m.a.s level with an average annual rainfall of 784 mm. A suitable and agile method was adopted to assess tolerance and susceptibility in rice genotypes at an early growth stage. Genotype Injury response, growth and biochemical parameters were measured to estimate possible effects of ozone, which was subsequently proclaimed as a criterion for ozone tolerance. Rice genotypes were subjected to ozone concentrations of 70 pbb (Current ambient) and 120 pbb (expected in near future) under a polytunnel. The findings indicated that ozone, an atmospheric pollutant, substantially harmed crop growth and metabolism, as well as inflicted a specific type of foliar injury that caused early leaf senescence. Rice genotype IR-9 followed by Punjab-Basmati and Ksk-434 appeared to be the most susceptible, whereas Basmati-515 followed by Basmati 2000 and super-Basmati were found to be Ozone-tolerant. Plant genotypes grown under elevated ozone showed 13.45% and 11.35% reduction in total root and shoot dry weight, and 25.54% and 6.6% decrease in plant leaf area and plant total length respectively compared to the control group. A significant interaction between treatment × chemical components and growth parameters was also found. The Present study confirms a direct relationship between visual response and growth as well as biochemical parameters. Declared results were statistically analyzed by using analysis of variance at confidence level of p < 0.05., Highlights • Air pollution in Pakistan could be serious threat to vegetation in near future. • Ten Rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes were testified against ozone concentration of 120 pbb. • Ozone exposure cause serious damages to morphological and chemical components of plants. • Leaf injury proved a key factor for the determination of Plant health. • Research findings could prove fruitful in developing ozone tolerant varieties., Ozone, Rice genotype, Foliar injury, Biochemical and morphological attributes.

To assist with rapid screening for rice blast resistance as a precursor in a breeding program, the susceptibility to rice blast of 13 rice genotypes from Australia was evaluated in May to June 2013 using three distinct inoculation methods (spot, filter paper and standard methods) at seedling, vegetative and reproductive stages. The results revealed that the spot and filter paper inoculation methods were successful in discerning susceptibility to the rice blast disease (P ≤ 0.05). Disease susceptibility declined significantly from the vegetative to reproductive stages. The standard method was conducted at three different stages for pot plants grown inside the mist house. However, low temperatures did not produce disease symptoms except in a few genotypes. Among the 13 rice genotypes screened, AAT9 expressed a highly resistant response, and AAT4, AAT6, AAT10, AAT11, AAT13, AAT17 and AAT18 expressed resistance at various stages. The results will be useful for selecting elite genotypes for disease tolerance where rice blast is prevalent. In addition, the resistant genotypes can serve as a gene pool used in breeding programmes to develop new resistant genotypes.

Folding and spinning behavior of Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guenee) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in different categories of rice genotypes viz., resistant, susceptible, hybrid, scented, popular and wild rice genotypes were significantly different. Longer leaf selection time and folding time per primary fold; shorter primary fold and whole leaf fold; lower number of binds per primary fold and whole leaf fold were recorded in resistant and wild rice genotypes. In the correlation analysis, it was found that the leaf folding parameters were positively correlated to leaf folder damage whereas the leaf spinning parameters were negatively correlated. Similarly, the morphological characters differed significantly among the chosen genotypes and were related to leaffolder damage. The leaf width and total productive tiller number were positively correlated to leaffolder infestation. Results also indicated that the trichome density and length, leaf length and plant height might contribute to resistance whereas total number of green leaves had no effect on leaffolder infestation. In the scatter plot analysis between leaf folding and spinning characters and leaffolder damage, the genotypes were separated into four groups viz., resistant (TKM6, Ptb 33, LFR831311, Oryza rhizomatis and O. minuta), moderately resistant (ASD16 and CORH1), moderately susceptible (ADT36, Pusa Basmati and CB200290) and susceptible (IR36 and TN1). The present investigation proved that the leaf morphology viz., leaf length and width, plant height and trichome density and length may play a vital role in resistance against rice leaffolder.

The experiment was carried out to assess the reaction of different categories of rice genotypes viz., resistant, susceptible, hybrid, scented, popular and wild in response to the infestation by rice leaffolder (RLF), Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guenee) and to explore the possible use of these genotypes in developing RLF-resistant rice varieties. The changes of various biochemical constituents such as leaf soluble protein, phenol, ortho-dihydroxy phenol, tannin and enzymes viz., peroxidase, phenyl alanine ammonia lyase (PAL) were assessed spectrophotometrically in all the rice genotypes before and after RLF infestation. The protein profile was analyzed using sodium dodecyl sulphate-poly acrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) method. A significant constituent of biochemical content such as tannin, phenol and ortho-dihydroxy phenol has been increased along with enzyme activities of peroxidase and PAL in the infested resistant (Ptb 33, TKM6 and LFR831311) and wild rice genotypes (Oryza minuta and O. rhizomatis). A decrease in leaf protein content was evident invariably in all the infested rice genotypes. It is also evident that the contents of biochemicals such as phenol, ortho-dihydroxy phenol and tannin were negatively correlated with leaffolder damage. However, leaf protein content was positively correlated with the damage by rice leaffolder. SDS-PAGE analysis for total protein profiling of healthy and C. medinalis-infested genotypes revealed the enhanced expression of a high molecular weight (> 97 kDa) protein in all the genotypes. Besides, there was also an increased induction of a 38 kDa protein in C. medinalis infested resistant genotypes, which was absent in uninfested plants. The present investigation proved that the elevated levels of biochemicals and enzymes may play a vital role in rice plants resistance to RLF.

Effects of shading at the flowering and grain filling stages on osmotic regulation substance content and protective enzyme activities in the leaves of different rice genotypes (e.g., IIyou 498, Gangyou 188, Dexiang 4103, Gangyou 527 and Chuanxiang 9838) were investigated. The results showed that the malondialdehyde content of Gangyou 188 significantly increased under shading, whereas those of IIyou 498, Dexiang 4103, Gangyou 527 and Chuanxiang 9838 showed no significant differences compared to the control. The soluble sugar content significantly decreased in IIyou 498, Gangyou 188, Dexiang 4103 and Chuanxiang 9838, whereas it did not significantly increase in Gangyou 527 under the weak light conditions (shading). Moreover, the soluble protein content in the leaves of different genotypes tended to decrease under shading. Further, the protective enzyme activities in the leaves varied in different rice genotypes under the shading treatment. Based on the osmotic regulation substance content and the protective enzyme activities in the leaves of different rice genotypes, it was concluded that Gangyou 188 and Gangyou 527 had strong abilities to adapt to the low light conditions. In addition, the mechanism of damage to rice leaves in different genotypes under shading was discussed.

Background Majority of the Asian people depend on rice for nutritional energy. Rice cultivation and yield are severely affected by soil salinity stress worldwide. Marker assisted breeding is a rapid and efficient way to develop improved variety for salinity stress tolerance. Genomic microsatellite markers are an elite group of markers, but there is possible uncertainty of linkage with the important genes. In contrast, there are better possibilities of linkage detection with important genes if SSRs are developed from candidate genes. To the best of our knowledge, there is no such report on SSR markers development from candidate gene sequences in rice. So the present study was aimed to identify and analyse SSRs from salt responsive candidate genes of rice. Results In the present study, based on the comprehensive literature survey, we selected 220 different salt responsive genes of rice. Out of them, 106 genes were found to contain 180 microsatellite loci with, tri-nucleotide motifs (56%) being most abundant, followed by di-(41%) and tetra nucleotide (2.8%) motifs. Maximum loci were found in the coding sequences (37.2%), followed by in 5′UTR (26%), intron (21.6%) and 3′UTR (15%). For validation, 19 primer sets were evaluated to detect polymorphism in diversity analysis among the two panels consisting of 17 salt tolerant and 17 susceptible rice genotypes. Except one, all primer sets exhibited polymorphic nature with an average of 21.8 alleles/primer and with a mean PIC value of 0.28. Calculated genetic similarity among genotypes was ranged from 19%-89%. The generated dendrogram showed 3 clusters of which one contained entire 17 susceptible genotypes and another two clusters contained all tolerant genotypes. Conclusion The present study represents the potential of salt responsive candidate gene based SSR (cgSSR) markers to be utilized as novel and remarkable candidate for diversity analysis among rice genotypes differing in salinity response. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12870-015-0498-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.