V. Ilieva1, N. Markova Ruzdik1*, D. Vulcheva2, Lj. Mihajlov1, M. Ilievski1

1Department for Plant Production, Faculty of Agriculture, “Goce Delchev” University, “Krste Misirkov” bb, 2000 Stip, Republic of North Macedonia
2Institute of Agriculture, 8400 Karnobat, Bulgaria

(Manuscript received 15 August 2019; accepted for publication 28 October 2019)

Abstract. The aim of this study was to determine the optimal harvest time to achieve maximum milled rice yield and quality of white rice in some newly introduced Italian rice varieties grown under agro-ecological conditions in the region of Kocani town, Republic of North Macedonia. During the 2014 and 2015, fourteen rice varieties were cultivated to estimate the milled rice yield and broken kernels from three different harvest times. From each rice variety, samples with moisture content between 20-22% (I variant), 18-20% (II variant) and 16-18% (III variant) were taken. From the third harvest variant the highest percentage of milled rice yield (65.23%) was obtained but also the highest rate of broken kernels (12.79%). From the remaining two harvests, almost identical milled rice yields were received (64.19% from the first variant and 64.33% from the second variant), but in terms of broken kernels, there were significant differences. The optimum moisture content during the harvest in order to obtain maximum yield and quality of milled rice ranged from 18% to 20%. The varieties Arsenal, Sprint and Mirko had the most favorable values for milled rice yield and broken kernels.