Effects of excessive Fe2+ on growth and physiological characters of rice

A solution culture experiment was conducted to study the effects of different concentrations of Fe2+ on the growth, chlorophyll content and activities of POD, CAT and NR in rice plant. The results showed that high ferrous oxide inhibited obviously growth of shoot and root , and chlorophyll content decreased in the lower leaves along with increasing of the concentration of Fe2+ in the solution. The activities of POD, CAT and NR were significantly decreased under higher Fe2+ stress. Under lower Fe2+ stress, however, the activities of POD, CAT and NR increased, which might be regarded as a mechanism of rice resistance to ferrous oxide toxicity.