Performance of four irrigated rice varieties under different levels of salinity stress.

Abstract

An experiment was carried out at the research field of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, Bangladesh with the objective of verifying the effects of different salinity levels on the germination, growth and yield of four irrigated rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars. The experiment was performed with 6 NaCl concentrations viz. 0, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 mM. It was observed that seed germination, plant height, tiller number and leaf area index are negatively influenced by different salinity levels in all the rice varieties. All the yield components that is number of panicles, panicle length, spikelets per panicle, filled grain and grain weight also significantly decrease with the increased salinity stress. An increase of NaCl concentration up to 150 mM decreased 36-50% of the grain yield of all the four rice varieties. Among the varieties BRRI dhan41 showed better performance at salinity stress up to a certain level.