A varietal difference in coleoptile growth is correlated with seedling establishment of direct seeded rice in submerged field under low-temperature conditions

To elucidate the physiological characteristics relating to better seedling establishment in submerged field under low-temperature conditions, we compared the time required to reach various growth stages after seed imbibition among rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties differing in the performance of seedling establishment. Two experiments were conducted. In the field experiment, the percentage of seedlings with expanded second leaf at 30 days after sowing (PSSL) was measured and regarded as the index of establishment rate for each variety. In agar-bed experiment, the number of germinated seeds, the seedlings with the coleoptile elongated to the medium surface, and the seedlings with the 1st leaf apparent were counted daily under a 16 degreesC condition. A sigmoid model was applied to the above values to evaluate the time requirements. There was a significant correlation between the duration from 50% germination to 507, emergence in the agar-bed experiment and PSSL in the field experiments. However, the duration from imbibition to 5070 germination, and that from 50% emergence to 50% appearance of the first leaf were not significantly correlated with PSSL. We found that fast growth of the coleoptile is an important characteristic for the varieties that can provide stable and excellent seedling establishment at low temperature.