Physical and Functional Properties of some Millet Cultivars in Iraq

Abstract

In this research, the physical properties of millet grains such as length, width, thickness, the weight of a thousand grains and the size of a thousand grains were studied for six millet varieties represented by Proso millet grown in Iraq and imported varieties such as foxtail millet (Ukrainian (1) - Russian (2)), finger millet and small millet in addition to sorghum. In this study, small millet was superior in grain length and foxtail millet (Ukrainian 1) in the character of width, while the thickness, finger millet was the highest value. Before soaking for the millet cultivars under study, the bulk density of one thousand grains was (0.66, 0.66, 0.75, 0.74, 0.63, and 0.74) g/ml, respectively. The highest value was for foxtail millet (Russian2), followed by finger millet, and the lowest was for the small millet class within the grain category small. The water absorption capacity was highest in proso millet flour (165.43%) and lowest in foxtail millet flour (Ukrainian1) (118.64%), while the oil absorption capacity was highest in small millet flour (132.66%) and lowest in foxtail millet flour (Russian2) (104.33%). The physical and functional properties are essential to engineers, designers, scientists, processors, and in the design of millet grain handling equipment. The results are also helpful in assessing the quality of the grains used during flour preparation.