'Koshinokaori', a new rice noodle cultivar

In a breeding program aimed at developing rice cultivars with new grain characteristics, the NARO Hokuriku Research Center has bred 'Koshinokaori', a non-glutinous cultivar with high amylase content suitable for rice noodles. 'Koshinokaori' was bred from the progeny of successive backcrosses between japonica 'Kinuhikari' (recurrent parent), which has the semi-dwarfing gene sd1, and indica 'Surjamukhi' (donor parent), which has high amylase content in milled grain. From the BCsub(3)Fsub(8) progeny, we selected a promising line, which we named 'Hokuriku 207' and sent to various locations for evaluation of local adaptability. 'Hokuriku 207' was registered with the Plant Cultivar Protection Office of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in 2011 as 'Koshinokaori'. The heading date of 'Koshinokaori' is slightly earlier than that of 'Koshihikari', but the ripening date is the same. The culm length is about 15 cm shorter than that of 'Koshihikari', the panicle length is about 1.5 cm shorter, and it has fewer panicles. The plant type is the semi-panicle-weight type. The grain shape is round and similar to that of 'Koshihikari'. The amylase content in milled rice of 'Koshinokaori' is about 15 points higher than that of 'Koshihikari'. Cooked rice noodles made from 'Koshinokaori' are less sticky than those made from 'Koshihikari', and are therefore less likely to stick to each other. 'Koshinokaori' is estimated to possess the blast resistant gene Pii. The field resistance for leaf blast is judged to be moderate and that for panicle blast to be moderately weak. It shows weakish tolerance to sprouting and weak tolerance to cool weather. 'Koshinokaori' can be grown from the mid-Tohoku area to Kyushu.