Effects of Evapotranspiration Reduction on Rice; Towards a Closed Water System

Drought is an abiotic stress that limits global rice production. Plastic mulch is one of the ways to reduce water consumption. To evaluate the closed water system in the pot, a study was conducted to determine the level of reduction of evapotranspiration that did not have an adverse effect on the vegetative growth of rice. Experimental treatments included: Treatment 1: 100 % control of evapotranspiration (The lid of the pot was always closed), Treatment 2: The pot lid was closed and the lid was left open for one hour every day. Treatment 3: The pot lid was closed and the lid was left open for one hour every two days, Treatment 4: The pot lid was closed and the lid was left open for one hour every three days, Treatment 5 (control): No control of evapotranspiration (pot lid was always open). Results showed that the control treatment (no control of evapotranspiration) had the lowest plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves per plant, leaf area, leaf relative water content, root volume, root weight, leaf fresh weight, leaf dry weight, and water use efficiency compared to the evapotranspiration control treatments. 100 % control of evapotranspiration had the lowest water consumption. In closed pots, due to the high relative humidity of the air inside the pot, the tendency of water molecules to convert from liquid to vapor decreases. Overall, the results of this study showed that it is possible to plant crops such as rice in a closed environment in terms of humidity.