Chapter 8 - Effects of Salinity on Rice and Rice Weeds: Short- and Long-Term Adaptation Strategies and Weed Management

Abstract

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is an important staple crop that feeds more than one half of the world’s population. Salinity has been a key abiotic plant stress damaging crop production worldwide. Rice, as the most sensitive cereal crop to salinity, is particularly at risk to salinity stress due to crop irrigation and flooding weed control practices. Understanding the cause and related consequences of salinity on rice growth and yield will enhance our ability to counteract its negative effects through short- or long-term adaptation strategies. In addition, weed competition and management is one of the major constraints of rice production due to environmental selection of saline-tolerant, troublesome weed species over time. Thus, weed population dynamics and composition in saline environments is different compared with traditional rice cultivated environments. These issues will be addressed in this chapter in an attempt to highlight the most important factors and challenges, as well as suggest short- and long-term adaptation strategies in this complex production system. Information provided in this chapter may also aid in evaluating the potential rice yield loss from weeds and in developing efficacious weed control methods under saline environments.