A REVIEW ON RESPONSE OF RICE (Oryza sativa L.) UNDER SALINITY STRESS IN TERMS OF ITS GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT, CHARACTERISTICS, AND BIOCHEMICAL LEVEL

Salinity is an important environmental factor that limits growth and yield of rice. It currently affects millions of hectares of soils otherwise suitable for rice cultivation in South and Southeast Asia. Attempts to understand the mechanisms of salt tolerance have revealed several key enzymes and altered biochemical pathways to infer crop resistance to salt stress. Over the past few decades, we have witnessed extensive research into the development of salt-tolerant varieties through traditional methods, improvisation with modern molecular tools and techniques. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the staple food crop in many countries around the world. Being a glycophyte by nature, its growth can be severely affected in the presence of excessive salt. Rice is particularly susceptible to salinity in the early vegetative and late reproductive stages, and the response of crops to excess salt toxicity at the biochemical and molecular levels as well as at the physiological level has been well studied and documented. This review aims to summarizes the different responses of rice, especially to salt toxicity, exhibited the detailed physiological, morphological, molecular and biochemical changes that occur in the rice plants.