Biomass and elemental concentrations of 22 rice cultivars grown under alternate wetting and drying conditions at three field sites in Bangladesh

Abstract

As the global population grows, demand on food production will also rise. For rice, one limiting factor effecting production could be availability of fresh water, hence adoption of techniques that decrease water usage while maintaining or increasing crop yield are needed. Alternative wetting and drying (AWD) is one of these techniques. AWD is a method by which the level of water within a rice field cycles between being flooded and nonflooded during the growth period of the rice crop. The degree to which AWD affects cultivars differently has not been adequately addressed to date. In this study, 22 rice cultivars, mostly landraces of the aus subpopulation, plus some popular improved indica cultivars from Bangladesh, were tested for their response to AWD across three different field sites in Bangladesh. Grain and shoot elemental concentrations were determined at harvest. Overall, AWD slightly increased grain mass and harvest index compared to plants grown under continually flooded (CF) conditions. Plants grown under AWD had decreased concentrations of nitrogen in their straw compared to plants grown under CF. The concentration of elements in the grain were also affected when plants were grown under AWD compared to CF: Nickel, copper, cadmium and iron increased, but sodium, potassium, calcium, cobalt, phosphorus, molybdenum and arsenic decreased in the grains of plants grown under AWD. However, there was some variation in these patterns across different sites. Analysis of variance revealed no significant cultivar × treatment interaction, or site × cultivar × treatment interaction, for any of the plant mass traits. Of the elements analyzed, only grain cadmium concentrations were significantly affected by treatment × cultivar interactions. These data suggest that there is no genetic adaptation amongst the cultivars screened for response to AWD, except for grain cadmium concentration and imply that breeding specifically for AWD is not needed.

Alternate wetting and drying in Bangladesh: Water‐saving farming practice and the socioeconomic barriers to its adoption

“…Importantly, both authors agree that AWD increases the harvest index; an observation was also made by Norton, Travis, et al. ().…”

“…() reported AWD caused a significant average grain mass increase of 9.8% and 9% compared to continually flooded over their two‐study years. Another study by the same authors (Norton et al., ) testing AWD on 22 cultivars in three sites in 2014 found AWD increased yield overall by 6.5% with individual site increases of 18.4% in Mymensingh, 8.7% in Madhupur, and no difference in Rajshahi. Oliver et al.…”

“…(), Norton, Travis, et al. () found that grain arsenic concentration is significantly lower in plots irrigated using AWD without reducing yield, although Norton, Shafaei, et al. (), Norton, Travis, et al.…”

Response of Grain Quality to Alternate Wetting and Moderate Soil Drying Irrigation in Rice

“…Yang et al (2009Yang et al ( , 2017 reported that WMD could cause reduction in grain As level and Cd content. Norton et al (2017) found that safe AWD decreased grain As concentration by 14 to 26% while increasing grain Cd concentration by 28 to 67%. We observed that the WMD regime significantly reduced As content in grains (Fig.…”

“…4). It was observed that there were significant two-way interactions about the influence of a safe AWD on grain Cd concentration among experimental site, treatment, and rice genotype (Norton et al, 2017). Yang et al (2009) reported that WMD (rewatered when soil water potential decreased to −20 kPa) irrigation, in contrast with WW, reduced Cd content in the grain and in milled rice by 19 to 21% and 40%, respectively, and increased Cd accumulation in the roots.…”