Rice Variety Profile for M-211

Early high-yielding, premium Calrose medium grain variety.

RES Rice Varieties

Variety: M-211

  • Former ID: 12Y2175
  • Year: 2020
Pedigree and Breeding

M-211, formerly designated as12Y2175, originated from a cross during summer of 2007 at the Rice Experiment Station in Biggs, CA. Its pedigree is “M-206/4/M-203/K397//M-205/3/87P1309//M-401/M-203”. M-206 is a high yielding, glabrous, early maturing Calrose variety released by RES in 2003 and widely adapted in rice growing areas in California. K397 or Kirara 397 is a premium quality, short grain, semi-dwarf rice variety developed in Hokkaido in 1980. It is cold tolerant during booting stage and has good tolerance to leaf and panicle blast. M-205 is a glabrous high yielding, early maturing Calrose-type medium grain variety released by RES in 2005 and adapted in warmer areas. M-401, which is a mutant of Terso, is a late maturing medium grain with premium quality released in 1981. M-203 is photoperiod insensitive and an early maturing semi-dwarf medium grain mutant of M-401 developed and released by RES in 1988. M-206, M-205, and M-401 are still being grown in commercial production in California

This new variety has excellent cooking characteristics above the Calrose quality and close to M-401 premium quality. It is considered a “Premium Calrose”. It was evaluated by mills and marketing organizations for its cooking qualities and was unanimously recommended with high acceptability to the rice market.

Agronomic Characteristics

The overall average grain yield of M-211 is 9,712 lb/acre compared to 9,196, and 9,129 lb/acre for M-209, and M-206, respectively. M-211 has similar seedling vigor to and slightly taller than M-206 and M-209. On average, M-211 flowered 1 day later than M-209 and 6 days later than M-206. It is more lodging resistant.

Milling and Quality

The milled rice grains of M-211 are heavier (1000-grain weight=23.64 g) and slightly longer (length=5.98 mm) compared to M-206 (5.84 mm), but slightly shorter than M-209 (6.07 mm). The grain width of M-211 (2.92 mm) is slightly wider than both M-209 (2.73 mm) and M-206 (2.79 mm).  However, the length/width ratio of M-211 is 2.05 compared to 2.22 of M-209, and 2.10 L/W ratio of M-206. While slightly bigger sized-kernels are generally considered a plus as opposed to smaller grains, the M-211 has grains that perfectly fit for mixing or co-mingling of Calrose-type rice.

Head rice yield of M-211 when harvested at 18-22% is 61/67 (head/total) compared to 62/68 of M-209 and 64/69 of M-206. Although the total milled rice is highest at moisture content lower than 18%, the head rice of M-211 is lowest when cut at moistures below 18% compared to the check varieties. USDA FGIS milling evaluation of M-211 in 2019 is 70/72 Head/Total compared to 71/72 for both M-206 and M-209. It is suggested that M-211 be harvested at optimum moisture content of 18-20%.

RVA and Quality Evaluation

M-211 has an apparent amylose content (%) of 14.4% compared to M-206 (14.0%) and M-209 (13.3%). The protein content of M-211 is 5.7% compared to 5.4%, and 6.9% for M-209, and M-206, respectively. The RVA profile, amylose, and protein content of M-211 is presented in Table 1.

External evaluations received from  individuals and organizations indicated that M-211 was acceptable for the rice market and considered superior to the regular Calrose varieties in terms of taste and overall quality.

M-211: RVA of M-211, M-209, and M-206

Blanking and Disease Screening Test

In San Joaquin, M-211 cold-induced blanking averaged 2% blanking over the three-year evaluations. M-211 is moderately susceptible to both stem rot and blast diseases. In comparison to M-209 and M-206, M-211 is less susceptible to stem rot.

Area of Adaptation

M-211 is better suited in favorable, high-yielding environments with a high-input production system and adapted to areas where M-209 or M-205 were grown. Results from the San Joaquin location and cold greenhouse tests indicate that M-211 may suffer more from cold-induced blanking if grown in cooler rice areas.

Variety Photos
  • River-Sage Tucker

    Plant Breeder Assistant

    River is a plant breeder assistant for the California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation (CCRRF). He received his BS in History from the Drury University and MS in Education from the Carthage College.

  • Matthew Morgan

    Maintenance and Operator

    Matthew is a maintenance and operator of California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation.

  • Justin Valencia

    Maintenance and Operator

    Justin is a maintenance and operator of California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation.

  • Randy Jones

    Field Supervisor

    Randy is the field supervisor of California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation.

  • Joe Martin

    Plant Breeder Assistant

    Joe is a plant breeder assistant for the California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation (CCRRF). His primary focus at CCRRF is to assist in the short grain breeding program. He received his BS in Plant Biology from the University of California Davis. He is currently enrolled in the Plant Breeding Academy at UC Davis to help further his knowledge in plant breeding.

  • Davinder Singh

    Plant Breeder Assistant

    Davinder is a plant breeder assistant for the California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation (CCRRF). His primary focus at CCRRF is to assist in the long grain breeding program.

  • Ravinder Gakhal

    Senior Plant Breeder Assistant

    Ravinder is a senior plant breeder assistant for the California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation (CCRRF). His primary focus at CCRRF is to assist in the medium grain breeding program.

  • Baldish Deol

    Senior Plant Breeder Assistant

    Baldish is a senior plant breeder assistant for the California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation.

  • George Yeltatzie

    Genetics Lab Technician

    George is the genetics lab technician for the California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation.

  • Frank Maulana, Ph.D.

    Short Grain Breeder

    Dr. Frank Maulana is a rice breeder for the California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation (CCRRF). He is leading a short grain breeding program to develop improved short grain rice varieties for five market classes, including conventional or regular, low amylose, sweet or waxy, premium quality and arborio or bold grain. The objectives of the program include developing rice varieties with high and stable yield, high milling grain yield, seedling vigor, cold tolerance, lodging resistance, and disease resistance. He received a BS in Crop Science from Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) in Malawi. Then, he worked as a plant breeder at the Agricultural Research and Extension Trust (ARET) for five years. He then went on to obtain PhD and MS in Plant Breeding and Genetics from Kansas State University (KSU), Manhattan, KS. Before joining CCRRF, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Louisiana State University (LSU) AgCenter-Rice Breeding program. His research project at LSU focused on implementation of genomic selection in an applied rice breeding program.

  • Gretchen Zaunbrecher, Ph.D.

    Genetics Lab Director

    Dr. Zaunbrecher is the Genetics Lab Director for the California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation (CCRRF).  The Genetics Lab utilizes marker assisted analysis to provide valuable genetic information to assist the breeders in rice varietal improvement.  In addition, through traditional mutational breeding as well as gene editing, we hope to develop new varieties of rice with enhanced yield, herbicide, and disease resistance, and other agronomically valuable traits.

  • Nirmal Sharma, Ph.D.

    Long Grain Breeder

    Dr. Nirmal Sharma is a plant breeder for the California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation (CCRRF), leading the long grain breeding project and incorporating disease resistance, high milling yield, seedling vigor, cold tolerance, and herbicide resistance into future rice varieties. He received his BS in Agriculture and MS in Biotechnology from Bangladesh Agricultural University. Then, he worked as a breeder in the Plant Breeding Division of the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) for several years. Next, he moved to the United States to pursue his PhD in crop sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Upon completing his degree, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Noble Research Institute before joining CCRRF.

  • Teresa B. De Leon, Ph.D.

    Medium Grain Breeder

    Dr. Teresa B. De Leon is currently leading the improvement and variety development of CCRRF medium grain project. She previously led the short grain breeding project from 2018-2021. Prior to her employment at the station, she worked as Plant Geneticist to University of California Davis for identification, origin, and prevention of weedy red rice. She developed pre-breeding and introgression lines of Louisiana rice with improved salinity tolerance for Louisiana State University Agricultural Center. As Assistant Scientist and Research Scholar, she has also worked at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and University of the Philippines at Los Banos on disease resistance of rice and other crops. With several years of experience in rice research and development, Dr. De Leon is integrating the use of conventional and molecular tools in breeding for medium grains with high yield potential, high grain quality, wide adaptation, cold tolerance, disease and herbicide resistance, and most importantly, a rice with excellent cooking and taste quality for consumers.

  • Emily Schaaf

    Executive Assistant

    Emily is the executive assistant of California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation.

  • Dustin Harrell, Ph.D.

    Director

    Dr. Dustin Harrell has been the Director of the California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation Rice Experiment Station since November of 2021. Prior to his current leadership position, he held positions as the Resident Coordinator of the LSU AgCenter’s Rice Research Station, the Extension Rice Specialist for the state of Louisiana, and the project leader for the Rice Fertility and Agronomy Project at the LSU Rice Experiment Station.

  • Kirk Troughton

    Maintenance and Operator

    Kirk is a maintenance and operator of California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation.