Trakya University Journal of Natural Sciences (Jun 2016)
SELECTION OF SALT-RESISTANT RICE GENOTYPES USING ANATOMICAL ROOT DATA OF SEVERAL CULTIVARS GROWN UNDER REAL, FULL-SEASON FIELD CONDITIONS
Abstract
I examined anatomical characteristics data of roots of 29 rice cultivars grown under real field conditions (control and saline) during a full season (from germination to harvest) to establish whether the data based on these characteristics could be used to distinguish between resistant and sensitive cultivars. The roots were fixed and their microtome sections were stained using three different methods for each section. The sections were photographed and measurement data of 30 different parameters were obtained using computer-aided methods. All data were grouped in quantitative tables and evaluated. The results of the evaluations showed that xylem diameter, stellar diameter, root diameter and medullary cell wall thickness were the most important parameters in selection. The cultivars characterized with a high level of change in saline conditions compared to normal conditions were found to be the cultivars with the lowest yield values. The cultivars for which the number of variable parameters increased or decreased (including apoplastic barrier lignification) were found to be of the groups denoted as low-, moderate- and high-yield groups. These results indicated that extreme changes did not provide an advantage, while cultivars with moderate changes - the cultivars with more stable anatomical structures - were more resistant to stress and produced higher yields. Moreover, extreme apoplastic barrier lignifications were found to not to lead to an increase in yield, but to become and disadvantageous case for the plants. All present results are consistent with our previous studies and field observations. The potential use of new root anatomy parameters in selection and breeding of salt resistant rice cultivars were underlined.
