BRS Pampeira is a rice cultivar developed by Embrapa, recommended for irrigated cultivation in Brazil. It shows modern architecture, with high tillering and tolerance to lodging. It stands out for its high yield potential, medium cycle and good grain quality. Key words: Oryza sativa L.; productivity; plant breeding.

The objective of this work was to determine the genetic progress of grain quality attributes of flooded irrigated rice (Oryza sativa) cultivars in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, between 1972 and 2016. The genetic estimates followed an approach based on the comparative analysis of 25 cultivars released by Embrapa’s breeding program over this period. The experiment was implemented in four producing regions of the state of Rio Grande do Sul: Sul, Campanha, Planície Costeira Interna, and Planície Costeira Externa. The following significant genetic gains were observed: 0.20% per year, for percentage of whole grains after processing; -1.38% per year, for percentage of chalky kernels and white-core grains; -0.77% per year, for total chalky area; -0.08% per year, for total whiteness; and -0.82% per year, for non-vitreous grain whiteness. Most cultivars released have high amylose content and a low gelatinization temperature. Therefore, the breeding program presented significant annual genetic progresses between 1972 and 2016 for the main attributes of grain quality, and made cultivars available according to the national demand for grain quality in the several segments of the rice production industry.

Different rice cultivars have been developed in order to obtain grains with optimal cultivation and compositional characteristics, which affect their potential applications. Therefore, the characterization of these different rice cultivars is required. In the present study, white rice and rice bran from the cultivars BRS AG, BRS Pampa, and BRS 358 provided by EMBRAPA were characterized by physicochemical means, infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR), and thermal analyses. The moisture, lipid, and ash contents did not differ among the white rice cultivars. The cultivar BRS Pampa exhibited the highest protein and lowest total carbohydrate contents. Both BRS Pampa and BRS 358 showed a higher phytic acid content than BRS AG. The highest total carbohydrate content was observed in BRS AG white rice samples, which confirmed its suitability for use in ethanol production. Among the rice bran samples, BRS 358 demonstrated the highest contents of lipid, protein, and phytic acid, and the lowest total carbohydrate content. FTIR-ATR and thermal analyses were suitable for correlating the physicochemical properties of white rice and rice bran with the molecular composition in the respective cultivars studied. Both white rice and rice bran exhibited a thermal degradation temperature at 300 °C. Lipids, protein, ash and phytic acid were considerably higher in rice bran than white rice in all cultivars studied, which demonstrates the importance of the use of this by-product.