Responses of Aerobic Rice (Oryza sativa L.) to Iron Deficiency

Aerobic rice has the advantage of saving water. Most published work has focused on improving its yield, while few reported on its micronutrient status. In fact, Fe deficiency is a common nutritional problem in the production of aerobic rice. Short-term hydroponic culture experiments were conducted to study the response of aerobic rice to Fe deficiency and the effect of root exudates from Fe-deficient wheat on its Fe uptake ability. The results indicate that the amount of phytosiderophores (PS) released from aerobic rice did not increase under Fe deficient conditions. The Fe(Ⅲ) reducing capacity of Fe-deficient aerobic rice did not increase and the solution pH did not decrease significantly. What’s more, no obvious swelling was observed in the root tips. Aerobic rice did not show special responses to improve their Fe nutrition under Fe deficiency as both strategy I and II plants though they were very sensitive to Fe deficiency. This may be a reason which causes Fe deficiency problem in aerobic rice. However, root exudates from Fe-deficient wheat (PSw) could improve its Fe nutrition in the presence of insoluble Fe(OH)3. This suggests that aerobic rice could utilize Fe activated by PSw.