A new rice variety ""Asatsuyu""

A new rice variety, gAsatsuyuh is a late-maturing, high-yielding and low amylose content rice variety developed at National Agricultural Research Center, Hokuriku Research Center (former Hokuriku National Agricultural Experiment Station) of NARO (National Agricultural Research Organization) in 2001. To develop a new variety with a low content of amylose in its grain, gAsatsuyuh was bred from the progeny of the crossing between Hokuriku 127 and Douhoku 43 (a low amylose content line derived from mutant line of gNihonmasarih) in 1986. A selected promising line was named Hokuriku 180 in the F sub11 generation to be submitted to local adaptability trials at various locations. Hokuriku 180 was registered as Paddy Rice Norin 377 by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and was named as gAsatsuyuh in 2001. This variety is the same maturing stage of gNipponbareh. Its culm length, panicle length and panicle number are similar to gNipponbareh, and its plant type is semi-panicle number type. This variety is highly yielding ability, and its yield is higher than gNipponbareh, and about 17% higher than a low amylose content variety, gSoft 158h. The amylose content of gAsatsuyuh was about 6-8%, and about 3% lower compared gSoft 158h, when the amylose content of gNipponbareh was about 16-19%. For this low amylose content, its grain appears white muddy, and it's called dull endosperm or semi-glutinous. Cooked rice of gAsatsuyuh is soft and sticky compared ordinary varieties, and hard to aging of starch. So gAsatsuyuh is suitable raw materials for blend rice with superior eating quality, germ-free packed rice, dumplings, rice cracker, alpha-rice and so on. This variety is tolerance to lodging, and true blast resistance gene Pia, and moderate field resistance of blast. Tolerance to sprouting is moderately weak. Judging from its maturing, gAsatsuyuh can be grown in plains in the southern parts of Southern-Tohoku, Hokuriku and Kanto regions of Japan.