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Received: 5th April, 2026; Accepted: 3rd June, 2026

Abstract

Rice grains with chalkiness are considered inferior in cooking quality. Chalky grains contain air spaces in the accumulated starch granules and may vary in amylose content from translucent grains of the same genotype. Further, chalky area percentage (CAP) varies among the genotypes. Hence, this study assessed CAP, amylose and amylopectin contents in individual chalky and translucent grains of seven rice varieties cultivated in wet and dry seasons. Besides, other cooking quality parameters, kernel length after cooking (KLAC), alkali spreading value (ASV), volume expansion ratio (VER) and pasting profiles were assessed in translucent and chalky grains separately. CAP widely varied (5-75%) in the individual grains of varieties. Grains with CAP >75 were more in dry season indicating the influence of environment on chalkiness. In chalky and translucent grains, variation in KLAC and VER were highly significant while variation in ASV was non-significant. Amylose and amylopectin exhibited inverse and direct relationships with CAP, respectively. Compared with translucent grains, the four measured and three derived viscosities showed significant variations in the chalky grains. The cool paste or final viscosity values were lower in the chalky grains. Variation in the cooking quality behaviour of chalky grains is genotype dependent. However, genotypes categorized as VOC may not affect the overall pasting properties or cooking quality of the rice genotype.