RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE 2ND LEAF BLADE LENGTH AND ELONGATION ABILITY OF PLANT IN DEEP-WATER RICE

The relationship between the second leaf-blade (2LB) length and elongation ability of plant was examined in Asian and African deepwater rice (DWR) varieties. A large variation in the 2LB length was observed in both DWR varieties. In the Asian varieties, the average 2LB length was slightly larger for the Bangladeshi and Indian DWR varieties compared with that for the Cambodian, Chinese, Myanmarese, Thai and Vietnamese ones. The average 2LB length of the African DWR varieties was almost similar to that of the Indian ones. The 2LB length was highly correlated with the elongation ability of the plant in each of the Thai, Bangladeshi and African DWR varieties, while such correlation was not observed in the DWR varieties from other countries and also in all the Asian DWR varieties. This relationship may be helpful for the analysis of the elongation ability and the development of techniques for screening at the very early seedling stage of the Thai, Bangladeshi and African DWR varieties.