The fissure generation of one short- and two long-grain rough rice dried at different air conditions for 15, 30 and 60 min, and respectively, tempered at 20, 30, 40 and 50 degrees C for tempering duration ranging from 0 to 330 min was analysed by integrating moisture gradients in rice kernels. Results indicated that drying and tempering processes had significant effects on the moisture gradient and rice fissuring. The percentage of fissured kernels increased with increasing drying time and decreasing tempering time. The tempering duration required for long-grain rice was shorter than that for short-grain rice to prevent kernel fissuring. Higher tempering temperatures can effectively eliminate moisture gradients and then lower the rice fissuring generation. Tempering at 50 degrees C reduced fissuring incidence by 32 to 50% compared to tempering at 20 degrees C. Moreover, short-grain rough rice was very susceptible to fissure whereas long-grain rough rice with a high amylose content was much more fissure-tolerance. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.