Abstract
Physical properties of rice (Oryza sativa L.) grain namely, kernel length, width, milling recovery, head grain yield, and physicochemical properties including amylase content, gelatinization temperature, gel consistency and volume expansion ratio were analyzed for 21 selected traditional rice varieties. The brown rice and hull percentages varied from 77-80% and 20-23%, respectively while the head rice yield varied between 55- 73% for raw rice milling except for the variety Kuruluthuda. The volume expansion over cooking was more than 2.6 times compared to uncooked rice in all the varieties except for Kuruluthuda and Masuran. The gelatinization temperature (GT) was determined based on alkali spreading score and the majority of the rice varieties evaluated showed intermediate GT (70-74 oC). The rice varieties Madathawalu, Pokkali, Maa Wee, Gonabaru, Inginimitiya and Dular showed low GT values (55-69 oC). No variety was found with a high GT (above 74 oC). Intermediate amylose content (AC) was observed in the majority of varieties except Suduru Samba that recorded a low AC while Herath Banda and Kalu Heenati recorded high ACs. Pachchaperumal and Maa Wee reported a low AC close to intermediate AC. The gel consistency (GC) was highly varied among the selected varieties. Usually soft GC is preferred over hard GC by the consumers. Rice varieties Herath Banda, Wanni Dahanala, Rathal, Hondarawalu, Kuruluthuda, Deveraddiri, Sulai and Masuran were identified as the soft GC varieties. Tropical Agricultural Research Vol. 25 (4): 570 – 578 (2014)
Highlights
Rice production in Sri Lanka has grown remarkably during last few decades and at present, Sri Lanka remains at the self-sufficiency level
Twenty one selected traditional rice varieties were grown at the Rice Research and Development Institute (RRDI) Bathalagoda in Maha 2012/2013 under similar management practices
Brown rice percentage varied from 77-80% while the percentage of husk varied between 2023% which was within the range acceptable for commercial production
Summary
Rice production in Sri Lanka has grown remarkably during last few decades and at present, Sri Lanka remains at the self-sufficiency level. Present programme of rice production have been mainly targeted on fulfillment of the national demand. Grain Quality Characteristics of Traditional Rice Varieties challenges of the decade (Abeywickrama et al, 2010). Indigenous rice varieties have a considerable demand in local and international markets. Commercial rice growers and rice exporters have already created a niche market among the local and international consumers owing to their nutritional and medicinal properties recognized through the indigenous knowledge. There were over four hundred different traditional varieties of rice grown in the country, each with different nutrient values and cooking and eating characteristics (Abesekara et al, 2008)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
