Evaluation of Phenotypic Responses of Selected Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Cultivars to Hexavalent Chromium Stress in Soil

Abstract

The current work is designed to search for suitable rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars capable of growing on Cr(VI), hexavalent chromium contaminated soils. The study of tolerance and phenotypical changes of three selected rice cultivars like Bina Dhan 11, Kalachampa, and Pratikshya, at the seedling stages, was done under soil Cr(VI) concentrations up to 300 mg.kg-1 of soil. The 7-day seedlings of these rice cultivars growing on Cr(VI) treated soils were found to exhibit a significant reduction in shoot and root growth at p ≤ 0.05. The experimental results support that 7-day seedlings of Bina Dhan 11 were found to be the best among the three cultivars under soil Cr(VI) stress conditions. The present work may help in selecting suitable rice cultivar for paddy cultivation on Cr(VI) contaminated crop lands present in mining and industrial belts. Further work on this aspect may be useful in increasing rice productivity, catering to the increase in demand for food.

Keywords

• rice cultivars, hexavalent chromium stress, phenotypic responses, seedlings