Delayed sowing does not improve palatability-related traits in high-quality rice

Abstract

The demand for and consumption of soft-textured, high-quality rice with low amylose content have substantially increased in China with improved economic and living standards. Shifting sowing date is a common strategy to optimize temperature conditions and improve rice quality. In this study, a high-quality rice cultivar with low amylose content (Jingliangyou 1468) was grown under four sowing dates (May 15th and 25th, and June 4th and 14th) in 2019 and 2020 to determine the effects of sowing date on palatability-related traits and evaluate relationships between palatability-related traits and daily mean temperature during the grain-filling period. Results showed that delaying sowing date decreased daily mean temperature during the grain-filling period and consequently increased amylose content and setback viscosity of milled rice flour, which in turn increased hardness and chewiness of cooked rice. The finding of this study suggests that the strategy of delayed sowing does not improve the palatability of high-quality rice in the context of consumers’ preference for soft-textured rice.

Keywords

• Rice quality
• Sowing date
• Temperature