Effect of salinity stress on growth and carbohydrate metabolism in three rice (<i>Oryza sativa </i>L.) cultivars differing in salinity tolerance

736-742 Rice seedlings cv. Khao Dawk Mali 105 (salt-sensitive), Luang Anan (moderately salt-tolerant) and Pokkali (salt-tolerant) were exposed to 0, 50, 100 and 150 mM NaCl for 9 d. Salinity stress caused reduction in leaf relative water contents in all cultivars. Shoot length of cv. Pokkali was least affected by salinity stress whereas increased root length in response to salinity stress was apparent in cvs. Khao Dawk Mali 105 and Luang Anan. Increased salinity level also caused reduction in fresh and dry weights in cvs. Khao Dawk Mali 105 and Luang Anan, but had no effect in cv. Pokkali except at 150 mM. Accumulation of total soluble sugars and sucrose in mature leaves were observed in cv. Khao Dawk Mali 105 exposed to high level of salinity whereas their concentrations in cvs. Luang Anan and Pokkali remained the same as control plants. Accumulation of sucrose in cv. Khao Dawk Mali 105 was suggested to be resulted from the alteration of photosynthate partitioning since the activities of sucrose phosphate synthase were not affected by salinity in this cultivar. On the contrary, salinity stress induced an accumulation of starch in cv. Pokkali. It is suggested that partitioning sugars into starch may involve in salinity tolerance by avoiding metabolic alterations.