MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH GRAIN QUALITY OF THE RICE VARIETY VENEZUELA 21

Abstract

Rice, the world's most important staple food crop, is the main daily source of calories and protein for more than half of the world's population. Seed production systems are the guarantors of quality and production standards, to meet market demands. The objective of the study was to determine a set of morphological characters in the Venezuela-21 rice variety, associated with the quality of the grain, so that its information can be used by the rice seed sector, who work with samples from batches of seed harvested, to contribute to the maintenance of the genetic identity of this cultivar. The results of the analyzes carried out showed that the variety Venezuela 21 is characterized by having open panicles, with golden colored seeds, in most of the lemma and palea, with a light brown apex and without edges. It presents pubescence towards the apex of the lemma and palea, with an angle of the apex between 11° and 40°. The variety presented average values of 9.89 mm, 2.49 mm, and 1.99 mm, for the length, width and thickness of the grain, respectively. It is one of the cultivars with the highest weight of 1000 seeds, averaging 30 g, which directly contributes to its high productive potential. Although the qualitative characters, such as color, grain pubescence and the angle of the grain apex, did not show variation, they are of great importance to identify the seed of this variety.