Vegetative Growth Phase in Local Rice Landraces as Affected by Moisture Stress

Rice, has been part of the most essential food crop for almost half of the world’s rapid growing population. At present, it is a valuable commodity of relevant importance which drives the change in the pattern of crop preference selection both in the urban and as well the rural areas. Water scarcity has been termed the most deepened single physiological and ecological factor controlling the effect of growth and development of plants than any known other factor. Experiments have been undertaken to determine the resultant effects of moisture stress and evaluate plant biomass during the vegetative growth phase in local grown rice landraces in North Eastern Nigeria. Seeds of two different local varieties namely BG doguwa, Mai-zazzabi and NERICA as control were obtained from local farmers as they are the widely grown rice cultivars in the region. There were three treatments of irrigating once in a day (control), irrigating after every 2 days (mild) and after six days (severe), respectively. Data collection was done on the following parameters; plant height (cm), number of leaves, root length (cm), stem diameter (cm), and shoot biomass (g). The present study revealed significant reduction in plant growth and biomass accumulation because of severe water deficit. Mai-zazzabi was observed to be more tolerant to the moisture stress in terms of plant growth compared to the other two tested varieties and was noticed to accumulate higher biomass under the severe moisture stress condition.