Quality Characteristics of Japonica Rice in Southern and Northern China and the Effect of Environments on Its Quality

Abstract

Four types of japonica rice including non-soft japonica rice from northern China planted in the northern region (NSJRNN), non-soft japonica rice from northern China planted in the southern region (NSJRNS), non-soft japonica rice from southern China planted in the southern region (NSJRSS), and soft japonica rice from southern China planted in the southern region (SJRSS) were adopted as materials to reveal the quality characteristics of japonica rice in southern and northern China and the effect of environments on its quality. Compared with NSJRNN, higher temperatures during the grain-filling stage in southern China resulted in poor processing and appearance qualities of NSJRNS and NSJRSS. Due to the increased protein content (PC), the eating qualities of NSJRNS and NSJRSS were bad. While for SJRSS, with low apparent amylose content (AAC) and few large-sized starch granules, the eating quality was better than that of NSJRNS and NSJRSS and even comparable to NSJRNN. Therefore, with a relative high PC of rice under high temperature condition in southern China, it could be one of the effective ways to reduce AAC appropriately to obtain a good eating quality of rice.