Accumulation of biomass and nitrogen (N) during the vegetative growth stage and N utilization efficiency were evaluated using plant growth analysis in two rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars with contrasting architecture: IAC-4440, a modern lowland cultivar, and Comum Branco, a rustic upland cultivar. An experiment with nutrient solution involved seven harvests that took place in the 25 to 85 growth-days period, where leaf area, dry mass, and N content in vegetative plant parts were measured. Cultivar IAC had higher biomass at the beginning of the growth cycle, whereas Comum Branco had higher values at the end of the experiment. IAC-4440 had greater leaf area, specific leaf area and root-to-shoot ratio than Comum Branco. The cultivars accumulated the same amount of N, but Comum Branco showed greater net assimilation rate and specific N utilization rate, indicating greater utilization of the N absorbed. Higher growth rates of Comum Branco were associated with higher N concentration per unit leaf area, but not with N concentration per unit leaf mass which were superior in IAC-4440. These results indicate that a local rustic cultivar of rice can provide a source of N utilization efficiency.
ecotype; growth analysis; leaf area; Oryza sativa
