Applications in sustainable production

The mineral concentration of Australian and overseas brown rice grain was analysed using nitric acid digestion and inductively coupled plasma emission (ICP) spectroscopy. The range of some minerals in the overseas genotypes was greater than in the Australian genotypes. Yield and harvest index are negatively correlated to concentrations of N, S, P, Mg, Cu, Na and Zn in the brown grain. Rice genotypes were also grouped statistically using a cluster analysis, and common features of each group were examined. Common features of groups included country of origin, mineral concentration, yield, harvest index and number of days to flowering.