Grain Quality of Some Basmati Genotypes

Grain size and shape must be considered in germplasm improvement along with milling percent because they largely determine the market acceptability of milled rice. Long, slender rice grain fetches a high price on the international market. Elongation of rice grains during cooking is one of the unique features of Basmati rice. Some of the key Basmati traits—slenderness, translucency, and aroma—are simply inherited, but linear grain elongation follows a complex pattern of inheritance. In thaladi 1995 (September-October-January-February), we evaluated 23 rice genotypes along with two checks, Taraori Basmati and Pusa Basmati, for hulling, milling, head rice recovery, breadth, length-breadth ratio (L/B), and elongation ratio for rice quality improvement. A randomized block design with three replications was used on 12-m 2 plots and each genotype transplanted with 20- × 15-cm spacing.