Effect of Drought on Morphophysiological Traits of Rice: A Review

Abstract

Drought is the condition of prolonged paucity in the water supply, whether atmospheric, surface water, or groundwater. This significant abiotic stress is a severe limiting factor of plant growth and rice productivity, adversely affecting the economic rice production globally. Drought stress has a considerable effect on the rice plant’s morphological and physiological traits preventing it from reaching the maximum yield. Morphological alteration in rice includes inhibition of seed germination, reduced tillers, early maturity, reduced biomass while physiological changes involve restricted cell division and elongation, stomatal closure, loss of turgor adjustment, lower photosynthesis, slower growth rate, yield reduction, etc. The stress further brings about a biochemical change by accumulating stress metabolites, increasing Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) accumulations, increasing antioxidative enzymes and, Abscisic acid (ABA) accumulation. Various mitigation measures are applied to adhere to the effect of drought on rice plants by selecting drought-tolerant cultivars, planting early varieties, sufficient moisture maintenance, conventional breeding, molecular maintenance, and development of varieties with high yielding attributes. Thus, this review aims to assess the complex responses of rice plants to drought in morpho-physiological characters of rice along with its mitigation strategies in adoption to drought stress.