Photosynthetic pigments in rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes under low temperature stress

Abstract

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) has been enlisted as cold sensitive crop, because it is susceptible to low temperature at its different growth stages starting from seed germination till grain filling. In India, low temperature injury during winters adversely affects the yield potential of the crop. Chlorophyll deficiency has been observed as a common phenomenon in tropical rice cultivars at low temperature [1], which may be expressed as wilting, chlorosis, necrosis and even death of the leaf tissues at seedling stage. In fact, chlorophyll and other photosynthetic pigments are greatly influenced by climatic factors like light and temperature [2]. But different rice cultivars vary for cold sensitivity of photosynthetic pigments and it has been used as a measure of cold tolerance by several workers [3, 4].