EVALUATION OF THE EFFECT OF DROUGHT ON THE PHYSIOLOGY ACTIVITIES IN ASIAN RICE (ORYZA SATIVA L.)

Abstract

Rice is one of the major crops feeding the world population and is most important ingredient in food composition in Asia and Africa. Rice is not only a rich source of carbohydrate and proteins but also provides vitamins, minerals and fibre. It constitutes one of the most important staple foods of over half of the world’s population. Globally, it ranks third after wheat and maize in terms of production (Bandyopadhay and Roy, 1992). In 2012/13, about 491.1 million metric tonnes (FAO, 2014) of rice was produced from 158.4 million hectares (Statista, 2014) of land all over the world. Drought is the opposite of flood and it is defined in relation to plant growth or living condition and duration. It is a condition wherein there is continuous dryness or shortage of water to support plant growth and cultivation or living.