The effects of nitrogen uptake before and after heading on grain protein content and the occurrence of basal- and back-white grains in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Chalky rice (Oryza sativa L.) grains are induced by high temperature during the grain-filling period. Plant nitrogen status also affects the occurrence of basal- and back-white grains (BBWG). The objective of this study was to elucidate the relations between nitrogen availability per spikelet during the grain-filling period (N_GF) and each of the percentage of BBWG and grain protein content (GPC). We further compared the effect of the components of N_GF determined before heading (N_BH) and after heading (N_AH) on BBWG and GPC. We grew the rice cultivar ‘Koshihikari’ in pots in 2012 and 2013, and top-dressed nitrogen at the panicle formation and heading stages, under two (2012) or three (2013) temperature regimes during the grain-filling period. GPC was explained well by N_GF, but BBWG was not. BBWG was best explained in a multiple-regression equation by mean air temperature after heading and by N_BH and N_AH. The partial correlation coefficients for N_BH were 1.6 and 3.0 times those for N_AH in 2012 and 2013, respectively. On the other hand, in a multiple-regression equation for GPC, the partial correlation coefficients for N_BH were 0.91 and 0.71 times those for N_AH in 2012 and 2013, respectively. These results suggest that rice grains are most sensitive to plant nitrogen status before heading for BBWG but after heading for GPC, and that there is an optimal timing for nitrogen top-dressing that would maximize the reduction in BBWG per unit increment of GPC.