Open Access

ARTICLE

An effective method for estimation of rice (Oryza sativa L.) crown root numbers at the heading stage in saline-sodic soils of Northeast China

Liu M^1,2, Z-W Liang^*1,2, L-H Huang^1,2, M-M Wang^1,2, H-Y Yang^1,2

1 Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, Jilin, China, 130102.
2 Da'an Sodic Land Experiment Station, Da'an, Jilin, China, 131317.

Address correspondence to: Liu Miao, e-mail: ; Liang Zheng-Wei, e-mail: . 4888 Shengbei Street, Changchun Jilin, China 130102.

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2016, 85(all), 162-168. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2016.85.162

Abstract

Saline-sodic stress is a major abiotic constraint responsible for rice (Oryza sativa L.) yield reductions in Northeast China. The rice root system is crucial for yield development, and it is usually recognized as the key for improving future crop productivity. However, most of the saline-sodic soils in these areas contain high levels of soluble Na₂CO₃ and NaHCO₃, which results in a high pH (>8.5), clay dispersion, soil swelling, and overall poor soil physical properties. Isolation, washing and measurement of the rice crown roots is highly time-demanding in this kind of soil. Our aim was to explore whether differences in shoot characters could be reliable indicators, and a low cost and easy method for estimating crown root numbers in rice. In this study, 97 randomly selected field-grown rice hill plants, with 728 stem samples, of three genotypes at the heading stage were used in saline-sodic soils. Results gave a reliable estimation of values for crown root numbers as indicated by high positive correlations with number of stems (0.788***) and tillers (0.801***); diameter of long (0.545***), short (0.555***), and mean stems (0.586**), and hill (i.e., equal to 5 plants) circumference (0.796***) and mean hill diameter (0.366***) (P<0.001). The method proposed here was very useful in evaluating the crown root numbers through direct measurements under saline-sodic field conditions.

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Keywords

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