Domsiah
Encyclopedia
Domsiah is an Iranian variety of rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

. It is a long grain rice, with a black spot on one end, which gives it the name, which is Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

 meaning "black end". It is cultivated mainly in the Gilan province of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

.

Domsiah rice is related to Basmati
Basmati
Basmati is a variety of long grain rice grown in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, notable for its fragrance and delicate, nuanced flavour. Its name means "the fragrant one" in Sanskrit, but it can also mean "the soft rice," and the word coincidentally means "my smile" in Arabic...

 rice.

Domsiah is especially valued for its aroma, which is more expressed than other Basmati-type of rices, and for its ability to end up as a fluffy, flaky and very light but tasty substance as basis for other ingredients of a meal.

Research is trying to develop High Yielding Varieties (HYV) which could eventually replace Domsiah and help farmers obtain 5-7 tons per hectare, however, on the Iranian market quality goes before quantity so farmers can obtain more by cultivating Domsiah yielding only 2 - 2.5 tons per hectare.

Researchers and scientists have not succeeded in bringing forth varieties which are resistant to fungi and stem borer and still have the aroma of Domsiah and the other related local aromatic rice varieties, of which the most popular besides Domsiah are Binam, Hasani, Salari, Ambarboo and Sang Tarom and Hasan Sarai.
More than 80% of the rice area in Iran are under these varieties.

These varieties are all characterized by a tall stature, 125 – 135 cm., a
weak culm and droopy leaves. They have a long slender grain and a head rice
recovery of 60-63%. They have medium amylose
Amylose
Amylose is a linear polymer made up of D-glucose units.This polysaccharide is one of the two components of starch, making up approximately 2-30% of the structure...

content (AC, a determinant
of eating quality) and good aroma and elongation qualities.

Diseases and shortcomings

Domsiah and the other rice varieties have droopy leaves and a weak culm and are therefore prone to loding (fall down on the ground). They are susceptible to blast (fungi) and stem borer (insects).

External links


by N. Shobha Rani, Directorate of Rice Research,
Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, 500 030 India,
published in International Rice Commission Newsletter, 1998, issue 47, available through FAO document repository.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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