Morpho-physiological and biochemical response of rice (Oryza sativa L.) to drought stress: A review
Utsav Bhandari,
Aakriti Gajurel,
Bharat Khadka,
Ishwor Thapa,
Isha Chand,
Dibya Bhatta,
Anju Poudel,
Meena Pandey,
Suraj Shrestha,
Jiban Shrestha
Affiliations
Utsav Bhandari
Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, Tribhuvan University, Lamjung Campus, Sundarbazar, Lamjung, Nepal; Corresponding author.
Aakriti Gajurel
Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, Tribhuvan University, Lamjung Campus, Sundarbazar, Lamjung, Nepal
Bharat Khadka
Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, Tribhuvan University, Lamjung Campus, Sundarbazar, Lamjung, Nepal
Ishwor Thapa
Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, Tribhuvan University, Lamjung Campus, Sundarbazar, Lamjung, Nepal
Isha Chand
Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, Tribhuvan University, Lamjung Campus, Sundarbazar, Lamjung, Nepal
Dibya Bhatta
Department of Applied Biosciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, 41566, South Korea
Anju Poudel
Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Otis L. Floyd Nursery Research Center, Tennessee State University, 472 Cadillac Lane, McMinnville, TN, 37110, USA
Meena Pandey
Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, Tribhuvan University, Paklihawa Campus, Bhairahawa, Rupandehi, Nepal
Suraj Shrestha
Agriculture and Forestry University, Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal
Jiban Shrestha
Nepal Agricultural Research Council, National Plant Breeding and Genetics Research Centre, Khumaltar, Lalitpur, Nepal
Global food shortages are caused mainly by drought, the primary driver of yield loss in agriculture worldwide. Drought stress negatively impacts the physiological and morphological characteristics of rice (Oryza sativa L.), limiting the plant productivity and hence the economy of global rice production. Physiological changes due to drought stress in rice include constrained cell division and elongation, stomatal closure, loss of turgor adjustment, reduced photosynthesis, and lower yields. Morphological changes include inhibition of seed germination, reduced tillers, early maturity, and reduced biomass. In addition, drought stress leads to a metabolic alteration by increasing the buildup of reactive oxygen species, reactive stress metabolites, antioxidative enzymes, and abscisic acid. Rice tends to combat drought through three major phenomena; tolerance, avoidance, and escape. Several mitigation techniques are introduced and adapted to combat drought stress which includes choosing drought-tolerant cultivars, planting early types, maintaining adequate moisture levels, conventional breeding, molecular maintenance, and creating variants with high-yielding characteristics. This review attempts to evaluate the various morpho-physiological responses of the rice plant to drought, along with drought stress reduction techniques.
