Agronomic Factors Related to the Quality of Wheat for the Starch Industry. Part I: Sprout Damage

The wheat starch industry in the Netherlands processes about 300.000 t of wheat annually. However, only a small percentage of this wheat is grown in the Netherlands although it has been demonstrated that Dutch wheat varieties can also be successfully processed. Climatological and cultural aspects can however negatively affect Dutch wheat quality. Due to climatological conditions the Dutch wheat regularly suffers from sprout damage. It is for this reason that the effects of sprout damage on processing quality and quality of gluten and starch have been investigated using a pilot scale gluten starch separating system. Low levels of sprout damage appeared to have no effect on gluten yield and even improved the gluten coagulation. In baking tests also no effect of sprout damage on gluten quality could be detected. On the other hand, low levels of sprout damage may lead to a lower starch yield and starch has low viscosity characteristics, limiting its scope of application. Also the amount of solubles in the waste water was increased. These findings lead to a further definition of requirements of wheat for the starch industry, enabling future selection of wheat on the basis of more accurate criteria.