1Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Bogor Agricultural University, Kampus IPB Darmaga, 16680 Bogor, Indonesia
2Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Bogor Agricultural University, Kampus IPB Darmaga, 16680 Bogor, Indonesia
Abstract
The acid soil area covers major topics land where Iron (Fe) toxicity is one of a limiting factor for rice production which can be overcome by planting the tolerant variety. The information of morpho-physiological characters and the genetic variation of tolerant genotypes is very important. Here we study the variation of root and shoot growth as well as physiological responses to iron toxicity between ten rice genotypes under hydroponic conditions with agar addition. Growth parameters, leaf bronzing score, Fe content in the shoot and root plaques, total chlorophyll, carotenoids, and malondialdehyde (MDA) were observed in this study. Based on morpho-physiological data related to iron toxicity, ten rice genotypes were clustered into three groups which the best performance genotypes were Pokkali and Hawara Bunar. Leaf bronzing score showed correlated with Fe content in the shoot, but tolerant and sensitive genotypes could be differentiate based on this character because it showed non significant Fe content between those two groups. Our study found that the pattern in morpho-physiological characters variation could be useful for selection of desirable genotypes for Fe tolerant rice.
Keywords: Iron toxicity, Leaf bronzing score, MDA, Morpho-physiological characters, Tolerance
