Characterization of crop growth variables in some scented rice cultivars of Assam

The study on land races of scented rice (Oryza sativa L.) of Assam revealed that there was remarkable variation in all the crop growth variables viz., seedling vigour, root volume, culm diameter, lodging behaviour, leaf area index (LAI), net assimilation rate (NAR), flag leaf area, specific leaf weight (SLW), rate of dry matter production (RDMP), dry matter accumulation and partitioning efficiency. LAI in scented rice increased from 30 DAP to 60 DAP whereas SLW enhanced upto 90 DAP. The flag teaf area exhibited a significant positive relationship with grain yield. The cv. Kunkunijoha could maintain consistently high rate of dry matter production at all growth stages and high dry matter accumulation in panicle. This cultivar was identified to be a potential donor in scented rice variety development endeavour. One of the mechanism to improve the productivity in scented rice has also been identified to be through improvement in partitioning efficiency.