Evaluation of Physicochemical and Cooking Characteristics of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Landraces of Lamjung and Tanahun Districts, Nepal

After the Green Revolution, the increase in the choice of modern varieties at the expense of landraces has become a major cause of varietal loss. The preference, choice, and the economy of rice (Oryza sativa L.) largely depend on its physicochemical and cooking properties, which are found to be superior for landraces than modern varieties. In this study, we assessed and evaluated milled rice of 30 rice landraces on their physicochemical and cooking characteristics which aim to promote the revival of old landraces. Six parameters of physical properties, four parameters of chemical properties, and five parameters of cooking properties were evaluated based on the standard protocols. Significant variations (p < 0.05) were found in all the properties that were evaluated. The result showed that the highest milling recovery was found in Indrabeli (75.55%) whereas the lowest was found in Kalo Masino (66.98%) and bulk density ranged from 0.81 g/cm(3) to 0.88 g/cm(3) showing not much variability. Although most of them were of medium grain type, their 1000 kernel weight varied between 12.62 g and 25.65 g. From the observed chemical properties, Pahelo Anadi (9.73 +/- 0.55 mm) showed the highest gel consistency and lowest apparent amylose content (7.23 +/- 0.36%). Also, 13% of landraces possessed strong aroma while noble cooking properties were showed by Thakali Lahare Marsi with the highest elongation ratio (2.41 +/- 0.05) and by Chiniya with the lowest gruel solid loss (0.033 +/- 0.03%) and minimum optimum cooking time (23.45 +/- 0.03 min). In the principal component analysis, the first four principal components retained 73.8% of the variance. The first and second principal components were mostly related with the physical and chemical characteristics while the third and fourth principal components were concerned with cooking characters. Superior characters possessed by rice landraces can be further assessed for the breeding programs so that the cultivation of these cherished rice landraces can be enhanced.