MOISTURE AND VARIETY EFFECTS ON THE PHYSICAL QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF MILLED RICE (Oryza sativa L.)

Abstract

Three local rice varieties, viz. Gbewaa, Nabogu and Digang were used in a research to determine the effects of moisture content at 14 %, 12 % and 10 % of paddy on milled rice quality characteristics (brown rice, white rice, head rice, broken rice, rice bran and husk yields). Three by three Factorial Design was used. Five hundred grams of each sample was milled and analysed at Ashaiman Irrigation Project‟s laboratory in Accra. All the three rice varieties recorded the highest head rice yield at 14 % moisture content with the average values of 55.4 %, 62.0 % and 47.1 % for Gbewaa, Nabogu and Digang respectively as against 40.64 %, 54.41 % and 38.44 % respectively at 12 % moisture content and 35.77 %, 57.60 % and 41.38 % respectively at 10 % moisture content. Conversely, all the three rice varieties recorded the highest broken grains at 10 % moisture content with the average values of 31.93 %, 16.81 % and 32.33 % for Gbewaa, Nabogu and Digang respectively. The highest rice bran and rice husk yields were recorded at 10 % moisture content; with the exception of Gbewaa rice which recorded the highest average husk yield of 24.19 % at 10 % moisture content. Milling at 14 % moisture content is thus recommended for better physical quality characteristics of Gbewaa, Nabogu and Digang rice varieties.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am very grateful to the Almighty God for His mercy and guidance which were showered on