Impeded Carbohydrate Metabolism in Rice Plants under Submergence Stress

The detrimental effects of submergence on physiological performances of some rice varieties with special references to carbohydrate metabolisms and their allied enzymes during post-flowering stages have been documented and clarified in the present investigation. It was found that photosynthetic rate and concomitant translocation of sugars into the panicles were both related to the yield. The detrimental effects of the complete submergence were recorded in generation of sucrose, starch, sucrose phosphate synthase and phosphorylase activity in the developing panicles of the plants as compared to those under normal or control (i.e. non-submerged) condition. The accumulation of starch was significantly lower in plants under submergence and that was correlated with ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase activity. Photosynthetic rate was most affected under submergence in varying days of post-flowering and was also related to the down regulation of Ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase activity. However, under normal or control condition, there recorded a steady maintenance of photosynthetic rate at the post-flowering stages and significantly higher values of Ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase activity. Still, photosynthetic rate of the plants under both control and submerged conditions had hardly any significant correlation with sugar accumulation and other enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism like invertase with grain yield. Finally, plants under submergence suffered significant loss of yield by poor grain filling which was related to impeded carbohydrate metabolism in the tissues. It is evident that loss of yield under submergence is attributed both by lower sink size or sink capacity (number of panicles, in this case) as well as subdued carbohydrate metabolism in plants and its subsequent partitioning into the grains.