Deepwater Rice: A Model Plant to Study Stem Elongation
Year: 1998
Type: article
Abstract: Semiaquatic plants grow mostly in flood plains and along river beds and are adapted to survive partial submergence during periods of flooding (Blom and Voesenek, 1996). Among their adaptive features are the development of internal air channels (aerenchyma) that facilitate aeration of submerged organs and the capacity for rapid elongation when the plants become partially covered by floodwaters. Submergence-induced growth enables semiaquatic plants to keep part of their foliage above the rising waters and to avoid drowning. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a semiaquatic plant whose growth, at both the seedling and adult stages, is well investigated. It is cultivated in five ecosystems where the source of water supply and the degree of flooding are the major environmental determinants. The rice types corresponding to these ecosystems are rain-fed low- and upland rice, rice grown under controlled irrigated conditions, deepwater rice, and rice in tidal wetlands. Rice grown in the deepwater ecosystem distinguishes itself from most modern rice varieties by its ability to survive in water depths of more than 50 cm for at least 1 month (Catling, 1992). Among the deepwater rice types, the so-called floating rices exhibit extreme elongation capacity. They can grow at rates of 20 to 25 cm/d when partially submerged and can reach a length of up to 7 m in water depths of up to 4 m (for a detailed description of the deepwater rice ecosystem, see Vergara et al. [1976]; Catling [1992]).
Source: PLANT PHYSIOLOGY
Institutions: Michigan State University, Cornell University
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2015288052