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Impact of Elevated Nighttime Air Temperatures During Kernel Development on Starch Properties of Field-Grown Rice

¹Department of Food Science, University of Arkansas, 2650 N. Young Avenue, Fayetteville, AR 72704. ²Corresponding author. Phone: (479) 575-2841. Fax: (479) 575-6936. E-mail: tsiebenm@uark.edu ³University of Arkansas Rice Research and Extension Center, Stuttgart, AR 72160.

The structural features of starch were examined to better understand the causes of variability in rice quality resulting from nighttime air temperature (NTAT) incidence during kernel development. Starch samples were isolated from head rice of four cultivars (Bengal, Cypress, LaGrue, and XL723) field-grown in four Arkansas locations (Keiser, Pine Tree, Rohwer, and Stuttgart) in 2009 and 2010. Average NTATs recorded during the grain-filling stages of rice reproductive growth in the four locations were 3.0–8.4°C greater in 2010 than 2009. Elevated NTATs altered the deposition of starch in the rice endosperm. Means pooled across cultivars and locations showed that amylose content was 3.1% (percentage points) less for the 2010 sample set. The elevated NTATs in 2010 resulted in a decrease in the percentage of amylopectin short chains (DP ≤ 18) and a corresponding increase in the percentage of long chains (DP ≥ 19) by an average of 1.3% (percentage points). The greater NTATs in 2010 also produced greater starch paste peak, final, and breakdown viscosities, whereas setback and total setback viscosities decreased. Changes in paste viscosity were highly correlated with the changes in the proportion of amylose and amylopectin. Onset gelatinization temperature was greater by 3.5°C, gelatinization enthalpy by 1.3 J/g, and relative crystallinity by 1.5% (percentage points) for the 2010 sample set. Changes in gelatinization parameters and granule relative crystallinity were highly correlated with the changes in amylopectin chain-length distribution. Year × cultivar × location interaction effects were statistically insignificant, indicating that the four cultivars evaluated all showed some degree of susceptibility to the effects of temperature incidence during kernel development, regardless of the growing location.