An Investigation on the Detection of Potential Loss of Germinative Capacity during Storage of Malting Barley

Abstract

In the current collaborative work, barley samples covering several crop years in Canada were investigated for germinative capacity during storage. The first set of samples was sent to China for storage under typical local conditions while the control samples were stored at 5°C in Canada. Subsamples were taken from the material stored in China at intervals during the summer season and returned to Canada for analysis. Germination and α-amylase tests were carried out on the control and stored samples. Some samples that appeared to be acceptable at harvest were found to suffer germination losses as much as 70% during the process. In addition, commercial pearling tests and a rapid paper test used to detect preharvest sprout damage in wheat were carried out on the control samples. Correlation of the results with α-amylase values and the germination change after storage was studied. Samples that showed deterioration during storage were also subjected to examination using magnetic resonance imaging and near-infrared hyperspectral imaging (NIHI). The majority of nongerminating kernels exhibited a sharp interface between the endosperm and embryo in the ratio images produced by NIHI. Differences in the kernel images between the samples of different germinative capacity were apparent. The presence of the endosperm/embryo interface in the absorbance ratio image is therefore likely to correlate with a kernel's inability to germinate. The observation provides significant insights into the understanding and prevention of loss in germinative capacity in storage and handling of malting barley.