BackgroundSoil salinity is an abiotic stress wide spread in rice producing areas, limiting both plant growth and yield. The development of salt-tolerant rice requires efficient and high-throughput screening techniques to identify promising lines for salt affected areas. Advances made in image-based phenotyping techniques provide an opportunity to use non-destructive imaging to screen for salinity tolerance traits in a wide range of germplasm in a reliable, quantitative and efficient way. However, the application of image-based phenotyping in the development of salt-tolerant rice remains limited.ResultsA non-destructive image-based phenotyping protocol to assess salinity tolerance traits of two rice cultivars (IR64 and Fatmawati) has been established in this study. The response of rice to different levels of salt stress was quantified over time based on total shoot area and senescent shoot area, calculated from visible red-green-blue (RGB) and fluorescence images. The response of rice to salt stress (50, 75 and 100 mM NaCl) could be clearly distinguished from the control as indicated by the reduced increase of shoot area. The salt concentrations used had only a small effect on the growth of rice during the initial phase of stress, the shoot Na+ accumulation independent phase termed the ‘osmotic stress’ phase. However, after 20 d of treatment, the shoot area of salt stressed plants was reduced compared with non-stressed plants. This was accompanied by a significant increase in the concentration of Na+ in the shoot. Variation in the senescent area of the cultivars IR64 and Fatmawati in response to a high concentration of Na+ in the shoot indicates variation in tissue tolerance mechanisms between the cultivars.ConclusionsImage analysis has the potential to be used for high-throughput screening procedures in the development of salt-tolerant rice. The ability of image analysis to discriminate between the different aspects of salt stress (shoot ion-independent stress and shoot ion dependent stress) makes it a useful tool for genetic and physiological studies to elucidate processes that contribute to salinity tolerance in rice. The technique has the potential for identifying the genetic basis of these mechanisms and assisting in pyramiding different tolerance mechanisms into breeding lines.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12284-014-0016-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Development of rice varieties for tidal swamp areas is emphasized on the improvement of rice yield potential in specific environment. However, grain yield is a complex trait and highly dependent on the other agronomic characters; while information related to the relationship between agronomic characters and grain yield in the breeding program particularly for tidal swamp areas is very limited. The objective of this study was to investigate relationship between agronomic characters and grain yield of rice as a basis for selection of high yielding rice varieties for tidal swamp areas. Agronomic characters and grain yield of nine advanced rice breeding lines and two rice varieties were evaluated in a series of experiments in tidal swamp areas, Karang Agung Ulu Village, Banyuasin, South Sumatra, for four cropping seasons in dry season ( , and spikelet fertility (p = 0.215). Plant height had negative direct effect (p = -0.332) on grain yield, while maturity, number of spikelets per panicle, and 1000-grain weight showed negligible effect on rice grain yield. Present study suggests that indirect selection of high yielding tidal swamp rice can be done by selecting breeding lines which have many produc tive tillers, dense filled grains, and high spikelet fertility.

Gene pyramiding is considered one of the most effective strategies for achieving durable resistance against blast disease (Magnaporthe oryzae B. Couch) in rice (Oryza sativa L.), although few studies have evaluated the combining effect of the resistance genes. We report the development of pyramided lines with two major blast resistance genes, Pish and Pib, and the evaluation of the combining effect of them. The two genes pyramided lines were selected from the progenies of a cross between one near isogenic line (NIL), which harbours Pish, and another NIL, which harbours Pib, in the genetic background of blast susceptible variety, CO 39. The presence of the resistance genes was confirmed by DNA markers linked to them. To obtain DNA markers for Pish, we genetically mapped the Pish locus. We confirmed the additive effect of Pish and Pib in the pyramided lines by their reaction patterns to blast isolates, suggesting the potential availabilities of the combinations of these genes. In addition, we provide DNA markers linked to Pish for marker aided selection in rice blast resistance breeding.