Physiological and Molecular Profiling of Indigenous Lowland Rice Oryza Sativa L Landraces of Koraput in Relation to Flooding Tolerance

Abstract

Complete submergence due to flash flooding is one of the foremost constraints for rice newlineproduction, mainly in rainfed lowland areas of South and South-East Asia. The crop newlinelosses due to floods are expected to be more severe in future climate change scenarios. A newlinetotal of 22 million hectares of rice-growing areas are prone to flooding annually newlinethereby threatening the livelihood of more than 100 million people. The yield gap is newlinesubstantially high because of the high yielding rice varieties were grown in these areas newlineare susceptible to flooding and perish within 7 14 days of waterlogging. Therefore newlinebreeding for submergence tolerance trait will be crucial for maintaining stable yields in newlinethese rainfed lowland rice ecosystems. Due to the heterogeneity in flood-prone newlineecosystem, different types of traditional rice cultivars are being grown by newlinefarmers to suit their local circumstances. The local landraces adapted to rainfed newlinelowland could be the sources of genetic variation, which can be used to improve the newlineadaptability of rice to flooding.