Received : 12^th September, 2023; Accepted : 15^th October, 2023

Abstract

Abiotic stresses are the major constraints that affect the morphological, physiological and biochemical attributes of plants resulting in reduction of yield. Recently, combined occurrence of stresses has become a greater cause of concern in farmers’ fields. Hence, there is a need to identify genotypes that are tolerant to more than one stress. A study on physiological characterization for water and salinity stress was conducted in twenty rice genotypes during kharif 2022 at Regional Agricultural Research Station, Maruteru, Andhra Pradesh, India. Results showed that among all the treatments, root length, shoot length, root and shoot dry weight and chlorophyll content were greater under control followed by 1% mannitol, 2% mannitol and salinity stress. Visual scoring for water stress at seedling stage revealed that under mild water stress (1% M) in genotypes viz., CR4423-8, FL 478 and Pantara recorded 75-90% of survival and under severe water stress (2% M) 40-50% survival. Under salinity stress, the score 3 was recorded in FL 478 and 5 in Naveen, Pantara and CR 4423-75. For combined stresses, FL 478 and Pantara were identified as tolerant and can be suggested as donors.