Drought responses and its management in rice: A review

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the oldest crops cultivated over 117 countries and it is staple food for about half of the world's population. But rice production is severely affected by drought and other climate change threats. Drought affects yield as well as biochemical, physiological and morphological functioning of plant. Drought will affect not only rice yield but also will shift cropping systems away from rice cultivation towards more cultivable crops with adequate temperature range. Therefore managing drought for sustaining rice cultivation and yield is very important. Application of silica, proline, biochar, designer seed technology and some other methods are briefly discussed in this review as an attempt to mitigate drought stress. The aim of this review is to highlight the rice responses to temperature and drought stress and also to suggest crop sustaining adaptation measures for this.