Hokuriku 193: A New High-yielding Indica Rice Cultivar Bred in Japan

Hokuriku 193 is an indica rice cultivar released in Japan in 2007. It is characterized by a long panicle, a small number of panicles, a stiff culm, and a grain length typical of general indica rice cultivars. The mean brown rice yield of Hokuriku 193 was very high (7.65 t/ha) under experimental conditions during the period 1998 to 2005. The mean total air-dry weight was also very high at 20 t/ha. Hokuriku 193 is resistant to leaf and panicle blast and stripe virus and moderately resistant to bacterial leaf blast. It is expected to be useful worldwide not only as a staple food but also as a raw material for whole-crop silage and bioethanol production.