ARS | Publication request: Registration of 'Medark' Rice

Submitted to: Crop Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: July 1, 2006
Publication Date: September 1, 2006
Citation: Gibbons, J.W., Moldenhauer, K.K., Gravois, K., Lee, F.N., Berhnhardt, J.L., Meullenet, J., Bryant, R.J., Norman, R.J., Cartwright, R., Anders, M., Taylor, K., Bulloch, J., Blocker, M.M. 2006. Registration of 'Medark' Rice. Crop Science. 46:2316-2317.

Interpretive Summary: In order for the US to stay competitive in the world market it is important to develop cultivars that have high returns and low maintenance. Medark is a high-yielding, short-season, simidwarf, long-grain rice. The release of this long-grain will be a great benefit to rice farmers.

Technical Abstract: ‘Medark’ rice is a high-yielding, early maturing, semidwarf, medium-grain cultivar. It originated from the cross ‘Bengal’/’Short Rico’ and is similar in maturity to Bengal. It has improved disease resistance to rice blase, brown spot and straighthead. Medark has a lodging resistance slightly less than Bengal. The avg. rough rice grain yields over 20 Arkansas Rice Performance Trials for Medark was 8946 kg ha-1. Medark is moderately susceptible to sheath blight, kernel smut and false smut. It is rated susceptible to sheath rot and resistant to brown spot. The endosperm of Medark is nonglutinous, nonaromatic, and covered by a light brown pericarp. It has an average apparent starch amylose content of 142 g kg-1 and a low gelatinization temperature (70 -75oC).