Optical characterization of leaves from selected traditional and modern rice varieties (Oryza sativa L.)
Abstract
Traditional and modern species of rice were characterized using spectrophotometer and their photosynthetic activity as predicted by correlating the amount of different pigments in their leaves by interpreting the graph of their transmittance and reflectance. From the result, all the modern and traditional species have the same pigment aside from several varieties (Intan, Milagrosa, PSBrc 100 and PSBrc 82) which contain xanthophylls in the leaves as shown by the transmittance curve. This pigment protects the chlorophyll against oxidative destruction when irradiance is high. Results showed that modern rice varieties responded differently with light, wherein the rice species utilized particular range of pigment. Modern rice varieties have higher photosynthetic variety than traditional varieties as shown by less transmittance and reflectance. For further study on the optical characterization of rice varieties, the use of more species is recommended and that reflectance and transmittance be observed using a wider range of light wavelength.