Author(s): B. C. ROY AND V. CHALLA

Abstract: Low temperature during December and January is major constrain for boro rice cultivation in northern part of West Bengal. Very low temperature (10±5°C) and low light-intensity during those months inhibit normal growth leading to stunted growth and degradation of chlorophyll. The leaves turned yellow and became albino at extreme low temperatures (<10°C). After mid-February, temperature rises gradually and the seedlings also get full sunshine due to clear sky and the seedlings turn green in colour. In the present endeavour, 37 genotypes of rice were screened against low temperature at nursery for seedling characters (seedling height, shoot fresh weight, shoot dry weight), scoring for leaf bleaching, days to 50% flowering and yield under agro-climatic conditions of northern parts of West Bengal. The genotypes Parijat, Krishna Hamsha, IR 64, UBKVR-5, UBKVR-6, UBKVR-8, UBKVR-16, UBKVR-17, UBKVR-19, UBKVR-21, IVT-B4001, IVT-B4007, and IVT-B4008 were found to be low temperature tolerant at seedling stage based on leaf bleaching scoring (1-9 scale). Crop duration was more (varied from 20 to 35 days) for the genotypes grown in Bow-season than in Kharif. There was no notable difference in yield of the genotypes for the different dates of sowing in Boro-season.

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