Abstract
The ability of rice plants to cope with drought is supported by several parameters,
including the structure of the root organ for water absorption. This study aimed to
analyze the characteristics of the root tissues that play a role in supporting local rice
plants during drought. This study was conducted by comparing 18 East Nusa Tenggara
(Nusa Tenggara Timur [NTT]) local rice cultivars with two comparative droughttolerant and drought-susceptible cultivars under drought stress treatment using the
fraction of transpirable soil water method with levels 1 (control) and 0.2 (severe stress).
Morphological measurement of plant growth and root phenotype, including root length
and root dry weight, as well as plant height, number of leaves, and number of tillers,
was conducted in the vegetative phase (46 days after planting). The collected root
samples were prepared for anatomical slides using the paraffin embedding method and
observed microscopically. Results showed the tendency of drought-tolerant plants to
exhibit low reduction of the growth characteristics. In this study, drought tolerant rice
cultivars (Pak Mutin, Boawae 100 Malam, and Kisol) tend to have root anatomical
structure characterized by smaller root diameter, root area, cortical radius, vascular
cylinder diameter, smaller cross-sectional of the vascular cylinder, and smaller
metaxylem diameter with the higher number of metaxylem cells. In addition, thicker
root epidermal cells and more schlerenchyma cell layers were also observed.
Yustina Carolina Febrianti Salsinha, Maryani, Didik Indradewa, Yekti Asih Purwestri, Diah Rachmawati. (2021) Morphological and anatomical characteristics of Indonesian rice roots from East Nusa Tenggara contribute to drought tolerance, Asian Journal of Agriculture and Biology, Volume-09, Issue-1.
-
Views
807 -
Downloads
76
Article Details
Volume
Issue
Type
Language
Received At
Accepted At
