Determination of head rice yield (HRY) is of paramount importance in rice production. HRY is determined by a weight ratio of whole rice kernel to milled rough rice. Normally the experimental method for measuring HRY is sensitive, expensive and time consuming. The purpose of this study was to investigate the viability of using fissuring and bending strength of rough rice to determine the HRY. Different treatments of drying process were used to prepare the samples with different fissures and bending strengths. The results showed that the bending strength of the samples decreased by an increase in the percentage of grain fissures, leading to a decrease in HRY. High correlations (R=-0.98) were observed between head rice yield and bending strength and also between the percentage of grain fissures and HRY (R= 0.92). Head rice yield regression models were found with respect to fissuring and bending strengths. To estimate the head rice yield on the basis of "percent fissured grains" was finally recommended, due to its simplicity, lower cost and high precision.
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