Project final report

Breeding for low chalk in rice - final report

Date released
01 June 2019
ISBN
978-1-925747-06-5
Publication Code
CIM/2016/046
Authors

Mr James Young Professor Peter Windsor

Overview

Identifying specific haplotypes and testing genetic markers in breeding programs to ensure their suitability for reducing chalk. 

Chalk is a defect in mature grains of rice which causes the grain to become brittle and susceptible to breakage during the milling process. The incidence of chalk is likely to increase as average global temperatures rise. 

Higher temperatures also reduce the head rice yield (the unbroken intact white rice grains obtained by milling brown rice to remove the bran). Rice with a high percentage of broken rice grains is sold at a much lower price, often for animal feed, resulting in reduced income for rice growers. Diverting rice grains from human food to animal feed may also affect food security, considering that rice feeds around half of the world’s growing population. 

This project aims to advance previous work and functionally characterise the genes found on a small region of chromosome 5 by a previous project, identify specific haplotypes and test genetic markers in breeding programs to ensure their suitability for reducing chalk.