Abstract
Relationships between the location of panicles and mineral contents in a single grain of rice were investigated. A total of 296 brown rice grains were collected from 4 panicles, Oryza sativa L.subsp.japonica cv."Nipponbare". Phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and zinc were measured by IGP-AES after the wet digestion of each grain with HNO3-HGlO4. Both the mineral concentration(% or mg/g)and the amount(mg/grain)in a single brown rice grain were calculated. Concerning the dry weight and mineral contents, significant differences among panicles were determined by the Kruskal-Wallis test. The locations of panicles were sorted by 9 kinds of positions on a rachis branch. Dry weight, K concentration, and P and Mg amounts in a single grain showed significant differences in the panicle locations by the same test in each panicle. K concentration increased with a late flowering order of spikelets. P and Mg amounts were large in heavy grains on primary rachis branches.
