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Effect of Moisture Content and Temperature on Respiration Rate of Rice¹

¹Published with the approval of the Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Arkansas. ²Graduate assistant, professor and department head, professor, and former graduate assistant, respectively, Department of Food Science, 272 Young Ave., University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72704. ³Corresponding author. E-mail: tsiebenm@comp.uark.edu Phone: 501-575-2841. Fax: 501-575-6936. ⁴Associate professor, Agricultural Statistics Laboratory, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701.

One cause of yellowing or stackburn of rice may be elevated respiration rates caused by storage at either high moisture content (MC) or temperature. The effect of MC and temperature on the respiration rate of Oryza sativa L. ‘Bengal’ and ‘Cypress’ rice harvested in the fall of 1998 was investigated. For respiration rate measurement of rough rice at different temperatures, rice samples at high, medium, and low MC were sealed in quart jars and equilibrated to temperatures of 20–80°C. The respiration rate was quantified by measuring the rate of CO₂ accumulation in the free air space. To determine the effect of MC on respiration rate, rough rice was tested at 12–25% MC. Respiration was greatly affected by MC and temperature. The response of respiration to temperature was dependent on MC and varied between rice cultivars. Respiration rates increased as MC increased from ≈15 to 25%. Maximum respiration was at 50°C when MC was high (20–25%). At 15% MC, respiration increased from 20 to 70°C, while respiration of 12% MC rice, although very low, appeared to increase up to 80°C. A model was developed from this data to predict the respiration rate of rice over the MC range tested.