Effect of salinity on osmolytes and relative water content of selected rice genotypes

Reduction in relative water content (RWC) and photosynthesis (dry matter) is a common effect of salinity stress. In the present study, 7 days old rice plants were exposed to 0 (control) and 100 mM NaCl salinity for 7 days to determine the osmolytes accumulation and relative water content (RWC) in leaves. We observed that shoot dry matter, relative water content and K+ content decreased significantly with the increasing of salinity. In contrast, Na+ and proline content excessively increased in the leaves of salinity stressed plant. The results revealed that both the organic (proline) and inorganic (K+ ) osmolytes accumulation may be responsible for stress alleviation by retaining water in cell.