Wheat Quality Research Articles

Monitoring of winter wheat stripe rust by collaborating canopy SIF with wavelet energy coefficients

Stripe rust has caused tremendous damage to wheat quality and production. Disease-specific factors revealing group structure and photosynthetic physiology contribute to high-precision monitoring for wheat stripe rust. In this study, we proposed a remote sensing model that collaborates wavelet features (WFs) and solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF). First, sensitive features including vegetation indices (VIs), SIF parameters, WFs, and fractional-order derivative spectra (FODs) were screened based on correlation coefficient (CC) analysis and variable importance in projection (VIP). Then, through collaboration among features, six feature sets were received and imported to partial least squares regression (PLSR), back-propagation neural network (BPNN), random forest (RF), and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost). Finally, monitoring models was evaluated through two methods: holdout cross-validation and 5-fold cross validation to ascertain the optimal feature-algorithm combination. The results demonstrated that the collaboration of canopy SIF with any feature markedly improved the monitoring accuracy due to its responsive nature to the plant's photosynthetic physiology. The model based on XGBoost with WFs-SIF as input features achieved optimal monitoring accuracy, with at least 16.6% increase in R2 and 32.4% reduction in RMSE compared to the VIs-PLSR model. Correlation analysis of evaluation indexes (R2 and RMSE) under two cross-validation methods showed determination coefficients of 0.743 and 0.837, indicating mutual validation and high reliability of the conclusions. This study suggests that the collaboration between WFs and SIF exhibits considerable feasibility in high-precision monitoring of stripe rust, providing a novel insight for future field-scale diagnosis of crop diseases.

Productivity and grain quality of winter wheat varieties depending on the fractional nitrogen top dressings and seeding rates

The study was carried out in the Kostroma region on soddy-podzolic soils with an average degree of cultivation in 2019–2022, with three repetitions of a field trial. The purpose of the study was to estimate the effect of different doses of nitrogen top dressings applied at critical phases of plant development on productivity and grain quality of winter wheat at seeding rates of 2, 4, and 6 million germinating kernels per hectare. There have been studied 5 winter wheat varieties of domestic breeding, such as ‘Moskovskaya 39’ (a standard variety), ‘Moskovskaya 40’, ‘Moskovskaya 56’, ‘Nemchinovskaya 57’ and ‘Nemchinovskaya 85’. The used agrotechnology corresponds to the zonal one in the Kostroma region. As a result of the study there has been identified a productivity variation from 2.9 to 3.7 t/ha depending on a variety. The largest productivity was formed by the variety ‘Moskovskaya 56’ with the use of a triple dose of nitrogen at a seeding rate of 6 million germinating kernels per hectare, which significantly exceeded the control variant on 0.5 t/ha. There has been estimated an influence of doses of nitrogen top dressings on technological parameters and flour properties of winter wheat grain. There has been found that the high content of crude protein (17.44–19.41 %), gluten (28.16–35.80 %) and hardiness (65.9–74.6 %) was demonstrated by the variety ‘Moskovskaya 40’. There has been also established a large hardiness of the variety ‘Nemchinovskaya 57’ (62.5–75.0 %). The largest 1000-grain weight (42.0–45.2 g) has been found in the variety ‘Moskovskaya 56’. Through three years of the study, there has been proved a stable response of the studied varieties to the improvement of productivity and n qualitative indicators as a result of the use of doses of nitrogen top dressings for winter wheat crops.

The effect of injury on the sowing seed qualities of winter bread wheat varieties during harvesting and post-harvest processing

The current paper has presented the study results for the period of 2020–2022 to determine the effect of injury on the quality indicators of seed material in primary seed production of winter wheat varieties (‘Stanichnaya’, ‘Etyud’, Asket, ‘Lidiya’ and ‘Ambar’) during harvesting and post-harvest processing of seeds. There has been established that at different stages of technology in agricultural machines and grain cleaning equipment, during grain production, there was damage to the seed material. There have been identified certain types of injuries that most significantly worsen the sowing quality of seeds and reduce winter wheat productivity. The purpose of the study was to estimate the sowing seed qualities of winter bread wheat varieties of different maturity groups developed by the FSBSI «ARC «Donskoy» depending on their injury by the combine harvester and grain cleaning machines in the primary stages of seed production. The estimation of the quality of winter wheat seed material was carried out on the material obtained during winter wheat harvesting, such as manual threshing (control), threshing with the combine ‘Wintersteiger Classic’, after seed cleaning and sorting equipment VIM-1 «Selection» and Petkus K-531 «Gigant». When harvesting with the combine ‘Wintersteiger Classic’, two threshing modes were used: 1) recommended – 1500 rpm-1; 2) with a reduced speed of the threshing drum – 1000 rpm-1. There has been found that the highest level of seed injury was observed when threshing with a grain harvester (33–54 %). There has been determined that, depending on the type of the trial, the germination energy indicators varied from 89 to 98 %, and laboratory germination from 94 to 99 %. Caryopsis with damage in the embryo area had a high germination rate in laboratory conditions. With an increase in microtraumas, field germination has decreased by 4–17 % compared to the control. The maximum injury and reduction in field germination of seeds was observed in the varieties of the early maturing group. Post-harvest processing of seeds has led to an increase in the percentage of their injury by 1–6 %, regardless of the type of equipment used.

Occurrence and Chemical Control Strategy of Wheat Brown Foot Rot Caused by Microdochium majus.

Wheat brown foot rot (WBFR), caused by a variety of phytopathogenic fungi, is an important soilborne and seedborne disease of wheat. WBFR causes wheat lodging and seedling dieback, which seriously affect the yield and quality of wheat. In this study, 64 isolates of WBFR were isolated from different wheat fields in Yancheng city, Jiangsu Province, China. The internal transcribed spacer, elongation factor 1α, and RNA polymerase II subunit were amplified and the sequencing results of the fragments were analyzed with BLAST in NCBI. Through morphological and molecular identification, all of the isolates were identified as Microdochium majus. Verification by Koch's postulates confirmed that M. majus was the pathogen causing WBFR. The antifungal activities of fludioxonil and prochloraz against 64 isolates of M. majus were determined based on mycelial growth inhibition method. The results showed that fludioxonil and prochloraz had good antifungal activity against M. majus. The mean 50% effective concentration values of fludioxonil and prochloraz against M. majus were 0.2956 ± 0.1285 μg/ml and 0.0422 ± 0.0157 μg/ml, respectively. Control efficacy for seed-coating treatments conducted in a greenhouse indicated that M. majus severely damaged the normal growth of wheat, while seed coating with fludioxonil or prochloraz significantly reduced the disease incidence and improved the seedling survival rates. At fludioxonil doses of 7.5 g per 100 kg and prochloraz doses of 15 g per 100 kg, the incidence was reduced by 22.26 and 25.33%, seedling survival rates increased by 25.37 and 22.66%, and control efficacy reached 70.02 and 72.30%, respectively. These findings provide vital information for the accurate diagnosis and effective management of WBFR.

Enhancing wheat production and quality in alkaline soil: a study on the effectiveness of foliar and soil applied zinc

Cultivation of high-yield varieties and unbalanced fertilization have induced micronutrient deficiency in soils worldwide. Zinc (Zn) is an essential nutrient for plant growth and its deficiency is most common in alkaline and calcareous soils. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of Zn applied either alone or in combination with foliar application on the quality and production of wheat grown in alkaline soils. Zn was applied in the form of zinc sulfate (ZnSo4) to the soil and as a foliar spray during the sowing and tillering stages, respectively. Results showed that Zn fertilization of wheat, irrespective of modes of application, significantly increased grain and biological yield, grain per spike, and 1,000 grains weight over control; however, its effect was more noticeable when applied as 7.5 kg ha−1of soil Zn combined with foliar Zn at 2.5 kg ha−1. Zn application significantly increased the grain protein content from 9.40% in the control to a maximum of 11.83% at soil Zn of 10 kg ha−1. Similarly, Zn application improved Zn, phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) concentrations in wheat grains. Moreover, correlation analysis showed that the grain Zn concentration was positively correlated with the grain P concentration. The correlation between P concentration in wheat grains and 1,000 grain weight was not significant. A total of 1,000 grains weight was positively correlated with tillers per plant, grain yield, and biological yield. There were positive correlations between protein content, biological yield, grain yield, and tillers per plant. Therefore, soil-applied Zn + foliar application in alkaline soils with limited Zn availability is crucial for improving wheat yield and grain quality.

Uncovering the intricate relationship between plant nutrients and microplastics in agroecosystems

Recent scientific and media focus has increased on the impact of microplastics (MPs) on terrestrial and soil ecosystems. However, the interactions between MPs with macronutrients and micronutrients and their potential consequences for the agroecosystem are not well understood. Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is a staple food grown globally and has special importance for nations economies. Different elements can cause dangerous outcomes for wheat quality and production yield. In this study, batch adsorption experiments were done using 1 g of polyethylene tetra phthalate MP particles (PET-MPs) in varying concentrations of thirteen elements. The adsorption data were fitted by two common adsorption models (Langmuir and Freundlich). The effect of pH on the speciation of elements in aqueous solutions was investigated. The non-invasive characterization methods indicate the importance of O- and H-containing groups as the main component of selected MPs in controlling the adsorption of the elements ions. In the current study, adsorption and potential transport of the adsorbed macronutrients (K and Na) and micronutrients (Ni, Co, Cu, Al, Ba, Se, Fe, As, B, V and Ag) which include some beneficial (Na, Se, V), and non-essential or toxic elements (Al, As, Ag, Ba) onto MPs to the simulated roots of wheat were evaluated. The maximum sorption capacities of K+> Ni+2> Na+ > Co2+> Cu2+>Al+3 >Ba+2 >Se4+>Fe2+ >As5+ >B3+ >V5+> Ag + on PET-MPs at pH 5.8 and 25 ± 1 °C were 290.6 > 0.52> 0.51 > 0.20> 0.10 > 0.051> 0.024 > 0.003> 0.003 > 0.0015> 5.05 × 10−4> 1.7 × 10−4>3.7 × 10−6 mg g−1, respectively. The results highlight the importance of PET-MPs in controlling element adsorption in the rhizosphere. Our observations provide a good start for understanding the adsorption of multiple elements from the soil rhizosphere zone by PET-MPs.

Partial C-terminal truncation of Bx and Dy high molecular weight glutenin subunits after conserved aspartate

The composition of polymeric gluten proteins and interaction with non-covalently associated gliadins define the functional utility of a flour. This composition is dictated by the timing of cellular and genetic events in the plant and the developing seed. This interplay and its effect on gluten functionality is poorly understood and could provide a new opportunity for improving wheat quality in the future. Truncated proteoforms of high-molecular weight glutenin subunits (HMWGS) were observed for Bx and Dy subtypes across 49 Canadian bread wheat and 16 durum varieties. The relative abundances of these variants ranged from 7.5% to 37.7% and abundances of Bx and Dy variants were highly correlated (r2 = 0.85). HMWGS Bx7* and Dy10 were purified and the mass difference was shown to be from the loss of a C-terminal hexapeptide after a conserved aspartate residue. This aspartate was present at the ω-7 position in >90% of HMWGS accessions and the C-terminal sequence was highly conserved. Importantly, all HMWGS subtypes contain the same conserved sequences, but truncated variants were never observed for By, Dx and Ax HMWGS. The potential impact of these truncated HMWGS on gluten form and function is discussed.

Quality classification of stored wheat based on evidence reasoning rule and stacking ensemble learning

Classification of stored wheat quality is extremely important for reducing wheat storage losses and ensuring food security. However, the limitations of conventional single models and the uncertainties in the decision-making process have brought great challenges to the quality classification of stored wheat. To solve this problem, an accurate classification model for stored wheat quality based on Evidence Reasoning rule and Stacking ensemble learning (ER-Stacking) is proposed. Firstly, the base learners of the ensemble model are selected by the fusion measurement method of diversity and classification performance. Then, the importance weight and reliability factor of the evidence are obtained by the Differential Evolution (DE) algorithm and probability distance similarity, respectively. Finally, the ER rule is used to fuse the evidences optimized by weight and reliability to complete the identification and classification of stored wheat quality. In order to verify the validity of the method, experiments are conducted using the structured data on physiological and biochemical indicators of stored wheat. The experimental results show that the ER-Stacking ensemble model achieves 88.1%, 88.05%, 89.31% and 88.4% in the accuracy, precision, recall and f1-score, respectively, whose classification performance is significantly higher than that of the conventional single models. Compared with the models using other integration methods or different combination strategies of base learners, the proposed model also has obvious advantages, which can effectively improve the accuracy and reliability of the classification results of stored wheat quality.

Genotypic variation in grain cadmium concentration in wheat: Insights into soil pollution, agronomic characteristics, and rhizosphere microbial communities

Soil cadmium (Cd) pollution poses a serious threat to both the productivity and quality of wheat. This study aimed to investigate the genotypic variation in grain Cd concentration in wheat through field and pot experiments. Among 273 wheat genotypes, a significant genotypic difference was found in grain Cd concentration, ranging from 0.01 to 0.14 mg kg−1. Two contrasting genotypes, X321 (a low grain Cd accumulator) and X128 (a high grain Cd accumulator), were selected for pot experiments. X321 exhibited a 17.9% greater reduction in yield and a 10.2% lower shoot-to-grain Cd translocation rate than X128 under Cd treatment. Grain Cd content showed a positive correlation with soil available Cd content and a negative correlation with Cu content. Soil catalase activity significantly decreased in X128 under Cd stress, whereas no difference was found in X321. The grains of X321 exhibited a more compact spatial distribution of starch grains and protein matrix than those of X128. Moreover, the size of A-type starch in X128 was larger than in X321. Meanwhile, X128 contained much B-type starch, with some surface pits observed on A-type granules under Cd stress. Cd treatment increased the abundance of rhizosphere microorganism communities, with Ellin6067 and Ramlibacter being enriched in X128 under Cd treatment, which might facilitate Cd uptake. The accumulation of Cd in grains demonstrated a strong positive correlation with the rhizosphere bacterial diversity (correlation coefficient = 0.78). These findings provide new insights into the basis of grain Cd accumulation in wheat and have potential implications for developing new verities with low Cd accumulation to ensure food safety and minimize human exposure.

Determination of Production and Marketing Behaviors of Producers Selling Products to the Turkish Grain Board, (Kırşehir Province Mucur District Micro Field Study)

The aim of this study is to examine the socio-economic characteristics of producers who sell wheat to the Turkish Grain Board (TGB), which is an interventionist organization in the purchase and sale of grain in Türkiye, as well as some of their behaviors regarding production, marketing preferences, and their relations with TGB. The sample of the study consisted of 100 wheat producers in the Mucur district of Kırşehir province. The obtained data were interpreted by converting them into tables, cross-tabulations, and graphs. The data in the cross tables were statistically interpreted using Chi-square analysis. It can be said that producers are not satisfied with TGBs’ purchasing practices for some reasons. The most important reason for this is that quality-based purchasing practices have an extremely negative impact on prices. It was determined that they were not satisfied, and this resulted in high price reductions in quality-based purchasing, and as a result, there was distrust in analysis practices. Quality-based purchasing policy is a method that allows wheat quality characteristics to be determined with various devices in a short time. This method, which is decisive in quality classification and product pricing scale, must be explained correctly to producers. Otherwise, the producer ’s trust in the TGB may gradually decrease. This can be achieved through initiatives taken by the institution or through various publications and training activities. One of the most important results of this study is that TGBs and decision-makers are more sensitive to local producers. For decision-makers to maintain their influence on the producer, they must carefully examine the details of the processes with an inductive approach, starting from the bottom up. This situation is considered critical in terms of food security.

The innovative technology of dough preparation for bread by the accelerated ion–ozone cavitation method

Due to the fact that bakery, pasta and flour confectionery products are produced mainly from premium or first-grade flour, which is poor in the content of nutrients and fiber, the issue of developing technology for new types of flour products based on whole-ground flour of different fineness is very relevant and in demand. In the production of wholemeal flour, all parts of the whole grain are used—germ, grain shells, and endosperm. Also, recently the shortage of quality wheat has been growing. Therefore, the use of whole-milled flour from low-class wheat varieties will solve the problem of meeting the needs of the population. Using ion–ozone technology for preparing bread, high-quality bakery products from third-class flour with high nutritional and biological value were obtained. Using the obtained system of equations and constraints, the optimal modes of ion–ozone cavitation processing of dough were determined by a nonlinear programming method, which, subject to all the constraints (limitations) on the dough quality, provided the maximum dough strength of y2 = 181.0% and the dough parameter values of C × 10–4 = 25 units/mg, P = 1 atm, and τ = 5 min, which, in compliance with all constraints (restrictions) on the bread quality, provided a maximum volume of z11 = 232.1 cm3. A new innovative technology was created to increase productivity, efficiency and shorten the preparation time of bread. The method of making bread with the effect of ion–ozone cavitation of dough is very important for the bread industry, which affects the effectiveness of whole wheat flour obtained from the lower class of wheat, increases the quality of bread, shortens the technological processes of production, and increases labor productivity indicators. This method increases the economic efficiency of bread-making industries and the productivity of bread.

Application of quantitative non-destructive determination of protein in wheat based on pretreatment combined with parallel convolutional neural network

With the increasing demand for wheat, the detection of wheat quality has become imperative. Protein content is an important indicator for wheat quality. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) quantitative non-destructive testing technology has gained widespread application in agricultural field with the development of science and chemometrics technology. In this study, NIRS system was employed to measure the spectra of wheat, and the original spectra were pretreated using Savitzky-Golay smoothing (SG) pretreatment method. Subsequently, the NIRS prediction model of protein in wheat that using SG combined with parallel convolutional neural network (PaBATunNet) was established. PaBATunNet was composed of a one-dimensional convolutional layer, a parallel convolution module (Module), a flattening layer, four fully connected layers and a parameter regulator (PR). Module was made up of five submodules and a Concatenate function. The multidimensional features of the spectra were extracted by five submodules and spliced by Concatenate function. SG pretreatment combined with PaBATunNet (SG-PaBATunNet) was compared with commonly modeling methods, such as SG-partial least squares (SG-PLS), SG-principal component regression (SG-PCR), SG-support vector machine (SG-SVM) and SG-back propagation neural network (SG-BP). The results demonstrated that the modeling accuracy and prediction accuracy of SG-PaBATunNet were improved by 26.7%, 23.9%, 45.6%, 44.2%, and 38.4%, 39.6%, 60.1%, 58.0%, when compared with SG-PLS, SG-PCR, SG-SVM and SG-BP. The problems of low prediction accuracy and poor generalization ability with commonly modeling methods were effectively addressed by SG-PaBATunNet. This study provides an essential theoretical foundation for developing a fast, nondestructive and high-precision NIRS quantitative analysis model of protein in wheat.

A Comparative Study of Fourier Transform Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and Physicochemical Methods in Wheat Quality Analysis

Near-infrared spectroscopy is a non-invasive, rapid, and efficient analytical method widely employed in agricultural quality assessment. This study aims to explore the potential of Fourier transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy in the analysis of wheat quality in comparison to traditional physicochemical methods. Key quality parameters such as protein content, bulk density, dough extensibility, development and stability time, wet gluten, and extension area were considered. To compare the similarities between the two methods in an irregular manner and to make the trials more representative, randomized combinations of different samples were made by planting different wheat genotypes in different locations. In wheat protein determination (r = 0.92, p < 0.001), the correlation between protein determinations was very high and highly statistically significant. This indicates that the Fourier transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) assay is highly consistent and accurate with the physicochemical method for protein determination. In the quality indices of bulk density (r = 0.46, p < 0.05), dough extensibility (r = 0.46, p < 0.05), development time (r = 0.37, p < 0.05), stability time (r = 0.49, p < 0.01), wet gluten (r = 0.54, p < 0.01), and dough extension area (r = 0.63, p < 0.001), there was a positive correlation between the two assays. Although the correlation was lower compared to the protein assay, it was still statistically significant. This suggests that the FT-NIR assay also has some accuracy in these indices, although there may be some differences from the physicochemical method. Through comparative analysis, we found that in wheat quality assessment, FT-NIR showed a strong correlation and was highly significant in the determination of wheat protein content; in the determination of the extension area, although highly significant, the correlation coefficient was not high, and there was a positive correlation between the two, and a lower correlation was shown in the bulk density, dough extensibility, and development time. These results indicate that FT-NIR can assess the wheat protein content quality indicator. However, its ability to accurately assess wheat quality indicators such as density, dough extensibility, development and stability time, wet gluten, and dough extensibility needs further investigation.

Response of Organic and Inorganic Nutrient Sources on Growth, Productivity and Nutrient Content of Wheat

A study was conducted at college farm of Swami Keshwanand Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India to evaluate the influence of integrated application of different nutrient sources on growth, yield and nutrient content of wheat (Triticum aestivum L). Experiment was conducted in a randomized block design with three replications. Under different nutrient sources, i.e. control, 50 to 100% RDF, FYM 5 t ha-1, biofertilizers and their combined application were done. Findings exhibits that the application of 75 % RDF+5 t FYM ha-1+Azotobacter+PSB in wheat, significantly enhanced all growth (dry matter, chlorophyll content, total tillers, CGR, RGR and others) & yield attributes (Effective tillers, test weight and others), grain yield (4.12 t ha-1) and as quality, nutrient (N, P, K) content and protein content of wheat over rest of treatments, but it remained statistically at par with 100 % RDF+5 t FYM ha-1+ Azotobacter+PSB (grain yield 4.18 t ha-1). Thus, it is concluded that for better nutrient management, an integration of organic, inorganic and biofertilizers sould be done. With application of 75 % RDF+5 t FYM ha-1+Azotobacter+PSB, there is 25% saving of nutrients as compared to 100 % RDF+5 t FYM ha-1+ Azotobacter+PSB.

Influence of organic fertilizer derived from poultry manure on yield components and seed technological qualities of spring wheat

Influence of organic fertilizer derived from poultry manure on yield components and seed technological qualities of spring wheat

An investigation of grain characteristics, dough quality and baking performance of perennial wheats from contrasting parentage

Perennial grains are being developed to improve the environmental sustainability of grain production systems. However, to maximise their commercial viability, a clearer understanding of their food processing properties is required. In this study, the functional properties of selected perennial wheat breeding lines grown at sites in central New South Wales, Australia, were compared to each other and an annual bread wheat cultivar. Lines were assessed for grain yield parameters, rheological properties (wholemeal and refined flour), starch properties, milling yield and refined flour baking quality. Perennial wheats were found to differ from expected behaviours attributed to annual wheat, offering novel combinations of grain characteristics. Despite softer grain and rheological tests indicating only moderate gluten strength, several lines exhibited better baking performance than the conventional bread wheat control. Furthermore, flour water absorption was found to decrease with increasing grain hardness, the opposite of that normally observed for annual wheat. The results demonstrated that with appropriate breeding and selection, perennial wheat offers good potential for baking.

Starch characteristics and baking quality of chilled ready-to-eat sandwich bread made with starch branching enzyme II mutant wheat flour

Suitability of high-amylose starch branching enzyme II (sbeII) flour for industrial processing of wheat convenience foods (i.e., ready-to-eat chilled sandwich bread) is not known, specifically its impacts on bread quality and starch digestibility over chilled storage. Here we evaluated sbeII wheat quality in an industrial pilot plant using Chorleywood bread processing. Industrially-made sbeII bread showed lower volume upon production, and after chilled storage had lower starch digestibility (∼4% difference of starch digested at 90 min) and more resilient crumb texture compared to a wildtype (WT) control. sbeII breads made in a laboratory scale using an optimised AACC method also showed lower starch digestibility when analysed fresh and after chilled storage. Short-range molecular orderring (an indicator of starch crystallinity measured by 13C solid-state NMR) was lower for both fresh and stored bread, which suggested that the enzyme-resistant structures in sbeII bread were independent of starch retrogradation induced by storage.

Effects of commercial bacterial inoculants on fermentation and nutritive quality of wheat and annual legume mixed silages

Effects of commercial bacterial inoculants on fermentation and nutritive quality of wheat and annual legume mixed silages

Comprehensive Analyses of Breads Supplemented with Tannic Acids.

Tannic acid (TA) has been recently considered as a new dough additive for improving the bread-making quality of wheat. However, the effects of TA supplementation on the sensory quality parameters (color, crumb grain structure, and sensory properties) of bread have not been studied. Further, the potential of TA supplementation in bread-making quality improvement has not been evaluated by using commercial flour. In the present study, three commercial wheat flours (namely, XL, QZG, and QZZ) with different gluten qualities were used to evaluate the effects of TA supplementation (in concentrations of 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively). TA supplementation did not change the proximate composition of the breads but increased the volumes and specific volumes of XL and QZG breads. TA supplementation enhanced antioxidant activities, with 0.3% TA significantly increasing the antioxidant capacities of bread made from all three flour samples by approximately four-fold (FRAP method)/three-fold (ABTS method). Positive effects of TA on the reduction in crumb hardness, gumminess, and chewiness were observed in the XL bread, as determined by the texture profile analysis. For the analyses on visual and sensory attributes, our results suggest that TA did not affect the crust color, but only slightly reduced the L* (lightness) and b* (yellowness) values of the crumb and increased the a* (redness) value. TA supplementation also increased the porosity, total cell area, and mean cell area. Satisfactorily, the sensory evaluation results demonstrate that TA-supplemented breads did not exhibit negative sensory attributes when compared to the non-TA-added breads; rather, the attributes were even increased. In summary, TA-supplemented breads generally had not only better baking quality attributes and enhanced antioxidant activities, but, more importantly, presented high consumer acceptance in multiple commercial flour samples. Our results support the commercial potential of TA to be used as a dough improver.

Effect of streaming process on the quality of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) kernel during extraction

Streaming is a process of routing wheat flour streams to produce flour products and continuing with the milling process using plan-sifters. This machine has six ranges of opening mesh that produce six-grain granulations divided into several flour streams. This study aimed to assess the streaming process effect on the quality changes of wheat kernel extraction. The triplicates observation was conducted on the same 56 flour streams with different multi-wheat blends. The ash, protein, moisture, and gluten quality of blended wheat were analyzed. The streaming process significantly changed grain quality (p<0.001). Increasing the mesh width in the streaming process increased ash content (p<0.05) and protein content (p<0.05). In addition, there was a decrease in water content (p<0.05) and gluten content (p<0.05) at a wider mesh opening. The streaming process produces more than 72% wheat flour. This study showed the vital role of the streaming process in the quality determination of wheat flour produced.