ABSTRACT:
In the present study, the objective was to evaluate the production and quality of rice seeds of four cultivars under conditions of saline stress caused by irrigation water. The work was carried out at the EliseuMaciel Agronomy College of the Universidade Federal de Pelotas, with four rice cultivars, IRGA 417, Avaxi CL, Inov CL and IAS 12-9 (Formosa). In the experiment, the following saline concentrations were used: 0; 12.5; 25; 37.5; 50; 75 and 100mM. After completing the crop cycle, the following agronomic characteristics were evaluated in each of the plants: number of panicles, total weight of panicles, percentage of full seeds, percentage of seedlings and weight of a thousand seeds. The physiological quality of the seeds harvested from the plants maintained under conditions of salinity stress was evaluated by germination and first count tests. Saline stress reduced the productivity and physiological quality of rice seeds, with different responses from the four cultivars used.
Key words:
Oryza sativa L.; saline stress; physiological quality; agronomic characteristic.