Climate-driven trends in rice grain appearance: a 2023–2024 comparative study using Korea field data
摘要
The acceleration of global warming poses a serious threat to food security, particularly affecting rice production. High temperatures during the grain-filling period deteriorate the grain quality and appearance of brown and milled rice. This study investigated meteorological changes in Korea in 2023 and 2024 and analyzed key factors influencing rice grain appearance quality. The grain appearance quality of brown rice was influenced by whole grain and immature grain levels, whereas milled rice quality was determined by perfect grain, chalky grain, and broken grain levels. In 2024, the number of days with average temperatures exceeding 30 °C increased by 12 compared to 2023, and the number of days with maximum temperatures above 35 °C increased by 8. These climatic changes significantly affected the grain appearance quality of Dongjin2, Boramchan, Sugwang, and Hwanggeumnuri. However, Asemi6 and Nampyeong showed consistent grain appearance-related traits across 2023 and 2024, identifying stable expression despite climatic changes The negative impact of high temperatures during the grain-filling period resulted in reduced 1000-grain weight and grain quality, weakening market competitiveness and decreasing farmer income. These findings highlight the increasing need for research to address the effects of climate change on rice production. This study provides a systematic analysis of the relationship between temperature variations and rice grain appearance quality. Also, we identified rice cultivars that exhibited stable grain appearance-related traits despite environmental variations. These selected resources are expected to serve as valuable parental materials for breeding high-yield cultivars with stable trait expression under future climate change.