Dry cultivation and cultivar affect starch synthesis and traits to define rice grain quality in various panicle parts.

A pot experiment was conducted to explore the effects of high-quality (Huanghuazhan, HH), drought-resistant (IR, IRAT109) and drought-susceptible cultivars (ZS, Zhenshan97) under flooding irrigation and dry cultivation (D) on the starch accumulation and synthesis, physicochemical traits of starch granules and rice grain quality at the upper (U) and lower panicle. Under D treatment, IR and ZS had lower rice quality, especially the appearance and cooking quality. DHH-U had the highest appearance, nutritional and cooking quality among all cultivars under D treatment, which could be ascribed to the synthesis of more short-branch chain amylopectin and correspondingly higher starch granule tightness. DHH-U also maintained ordered carbohydrate structure, crystalline regions, and many hydrophilic and hydrophobic functional groups in starch granules before pasting. It could prevent the polymerization of small molecules to avoid the formation of macromolecules after pasting. Overall, these findings may facilitate the improvement of grain quality in rice dry cultivation.