Efficacy of Irrigation Interval after Anthesis on Grain Quality, Alkali Digestion, and Gel Consistency of Rice

Abstract

The management of amylose and protein contents and cooking quality are the main challenges in rice macronutrients and quality improvement. This experiment was conducted to examine the rice grain quality, alkali digestion, and gel consistency responses to irrigation interval after anthesis. Three rice varieties (K1, K3, and K4) were subjected to different irrigation intervals (1, 2, and 3 d) after anthesis. The findings of this study showed that the protein content was markedly increased from 6.53–6.63% to 9.93–10.16%, whilst the amylose content was decreased significantly from 22.00–22.43% to 16.33–17.56% under stressed treatments at irrigation intervals, whilst the quantity of fatty acids was not affected. The 3-d irrigation interval recorded the highest protein content but the lowest amylose value. In addition, this treatment shows lower gelatinization temperature, but it is negatively associated with hard gel consistency under irrigation interval. This study highlights that the water management following a 3-d irrigation interval from anthesis is a useful and simple treatment to improve rice nutrients and grain cooking quality.

Keywords

• irrigation interval
• protein
• amylose
• alkali digestion
• gel consistency