On Amylose Content of Cultivated Rice Collected in Madagascar, 1988

During the trip from June 1 to June 28 in 1988, 99 seed samples of cultivatred rice, Oryza sativa L., were collected. Those were classified into 130 according to the morphological observations. Their amylose contents were reported (Table 1). Amylose contents of endosperm starches of brown rice collected in Madagascar ranged from 29.1% to 12.4%, with a mean of 24.1%. The highest amylose content was found in a variety collected in the Northern Area. The lowest was found in a variety collected in the South Mountain Area. Based on the amylose content of endosperm starches, cultivated rices collected in Madagascar were classified into 'low' (12% to 18% amylose), 'intermediate' (18% to 24% amylose) and 'high' (above 24% amylose) types. Of 130 strains of cultivated rice, 75 strains belonged to the high amylose type, 51 strains to the intermediate amylose type and only 4 strains to the low amylose type. No waxy rice was found in the cultivated rices collected in Madagascar. The pattern of geographical distribution of rice with varying contents of amylose was noted to be considerably different among localities