Panicle Water Potential, a Physiological Trait to Identify Drought Tolerance in Rice

Two upland rice varieties (IRAT109, IAPAR9) and one lowland rice variety (Zhenshan 97B) were planted in summer and treated with both normal (full water) and drought stress in the reproductive stage. Panicle water potential (PWP) and leaf water potential (LWP) were measured every 1.0-1.5 h over 24 h on sunny days. Both PWP and LWP of upland varieties started to decrease later, maintained a higher level and recovered more quickly than that of the lowland variety. The results show that PWP can be used as an indicator of plant water status based on the parallel daily changes, and the high correlation between PWP and LWP. Similar correlations were also observed between PWP, LWP and eight traits related to plant growth and grain yield formation. PWP seemed to be more effective for distinguishing the upland rice varieties with different drought-tolerant ability. Differences in PWP and LWP between upland and lowland rice varieties were also observed at noon even under normal water conditions, implying the incorporation of the drought-tolerant mechanism to improve the photosynthesis and yield of traditional paddy rice.