Internal Damage to Wheat Grain as a Result of Wetting and Drying

Processes of heat and mass exchange which take place in the course of wetting and drying of cereal grain cause internal stress, the result of which are endosperm cracks. This damage, invisible to the naked eye and difficult to detect, causes specific effects, physical as well as biological. Spring wheat grain, cv. Henika, of an initial moisture content of 10% and varied endosperm structure (vitreous and mealy), was subjected to the process of wetting, and then dried under various thermal conditions. Internal damage to grain, caused by those processes, was detected by means of X-ray techniques. The extent of damage was described by means of suitable numerical indexes. Analysis of the results obtained revealed that, irrespective of the methods of grain treatment (wetting or drying), vitreous kernels suffered more extensive damage than mealy ones. The most extensive destruction of endosperm was observed following the drying of grain of high moisture content at high temperature.