Objective  To study the effect of nitrogen application rate on yield and quality of low-gluten rice (Oryza sativa).

Method  Five nitrogen treatments were set under field cultivation conditions. The nitrogen application amounts of N0 (Control), N1, N2, N3 and N4 treatments were 0, 90, 135, 180 and 225 kg·hm⁻² respectively. Low-gluten rice ‘ER22’ was used as material. The effects of different nitrogen levels on the yield, grain protein contents and proportion, and grain quality of ‘ER22’ were analyzed.

Result  Within the range of 0−180 kg·hm⁻² for nitrogen application, the number of effective panicles, seed setting rate, number of solid grains and rice yield increased with the increase of nitrogen application amount. Under N4 treatment, the seed setting rate and number of solid grains decreased leading to rice yield decline. The contents of total protein and each protein component of ‘ER22’ grain increased with the increase of nitrogen application amount during 0−35 d after flowering. Grain albumin and globulin contents in N2, N3 and N4 treatments at 35 d after flowering were not significantly different, while prolamin contents of N2, N3 and N4 treatments were significantly different. There was no significant difference of gluten content under N3 and N4 treatments. The taste quality of ‘ER22’ grain was good under N1 and N2 treatments. The processing quality was the best under N3 treatment. The overall quality of rice decreased under N4 treatment.

Conclusion  The suitable nitrogen application amounts for producing high-yield and high-quality low-gluten rice ‘ER22’ range from 135 kg·hm⁻² to 180 kg·hm⁻².