CHLOROPHYLL FLUORESCENCE, PROTEIN AND CHLOROPHYLL CONTENT OF THREE NERICA RAINFED RICE VARIETIES UNDER VARYING IRRIGATION REGIMES

Water deficit affects growth and development of rainfed rice leading to a considerable yield reduction or crop failure. Although the rice crop is susceptible to water deficit, there is a marked genotypic variation in protein and chlorophyll content in response to water deficit. The objective of this research was to investigate the effects of water deficit on chlorophyll fluorescence, protein and chlorophyll content of three recently developed rainfed rice varieties that is, New Rice for Africa (NERICA coded as N2, N4 and N11) with a view of determining their tolerance levels to water d deficit. This study was carried out in the University Botanic Garden, Maseno during 2005- 2006. Plants were subjected to water deficit treatments in the green house and in the field in a factorial set up. The seeds of the three NERICA cultivars of rice were planted in 20 Litre PVC pots in the greenhouse and in the experimental plots in the field, arranged in a completely randomized block design (CRBD) with four treatments and four replications. The treatments included watering a litre of water once a day (control), Watering every 2, 4 and 6 days. The parameters measured included chlorophyll fluorescence, protein and chlorophyll content. The Water deficit had no significant effect on chlorophyll fluorescence parameters. The total chlorophyll and protein content declined with increasing water deficit. Results indicate that under moisture deficit conditions, there is no significant damage to the photosynthetic apparatus of the three rice varieties. NERICA 2 exhibite