Grain quality and starch evaluation of local varieties of rice (oryza sativa l.) growing in Jharkhand state, India

With the improvement of people’s living standards and increasing awareness, focus is shifting towards staple food with added benefits that could be a part of healthy balanced diet. Many landraces or local varieties of rice harbour beneficial traits such as higher nutritional value and medicinal properties when compared to hybrid varieties. Efforts are required to increase public awareness about these varieties. Therefore, the present study aimed at studying physico-chemical attributes and correlation among grain quality traits of four traditionally cultivated and consumed varieties of rice from the state of Jharkhand, India, known for their nutraceutical properties. Most varieties are of medium size and shape. Recovery of Brown rice in selected varieties ranged from 75% to 79%. Variety Dani Goda was found to have the highest head rice recovery of 64.3%. Volume expansion ratio was observed to fall within the range of 2.11 to 2.70. Amylose content was found to range from 13 to 33% with the variety Karhani showing the maximum value. Various physiochemical and cooking properties exhibited convoluted relationship. Significant positive correlation was observed between grain weight and kernel length (r = 0.87, p< 0.05), kernel length and volume expansion (r = 0.74, p<0.05) and a significant negative correlation between volume expansion and amylose content (r = -0.65, p<0.05).