Falling Number

Abstract: Genotypes of cereal grains, including winter barley (n = 21), maize (n = 27), oats (n = 14), winter rye (n = 22), winter triticale (n = 21) and winter wheat (n = 29), were assayed for their chemical composition and physical characteristics as part of the collaborative research project referred to as GrainUp. Genotypes of one grain species were grown on the same site, except maize. In general, concentrations of proximate nutrients were not largely different from feed tables. The coefficient of variation (CV) for the ether extract concentration of maize was high because the data pool comprised speciality maize bred for its high oil content. A subset of 8 barley, 20 rye, 20 triticale and 20 wheat samples was analysed to differ significantly in several carbohydrate fractions. Gross energy concentration of cereal grains could be predicted from proximate nutrient concentration with good accuracy. The mean lysine concentration of protein was the highest in oats (4.2 g/16 g N) and the lowest in wheat (2.7 g/16 g N). Significant differences were also detected in the concentrations of macro elements as well as iron, manganese, zinc and copper. Concentrations of arsenic, cadmium and lead were below the limit of detection. The concentration of lower inositol phosphates was low, but some inositol pentaphosphates were detected in all grains. In barley, relatively high inositol tetraphosphate concentration also was found. Intrinsic phytase activity was the highest in rye, followed by triticale, wheat, barley and maize, and it was not detectable in oats. Substantial differences were seen in the thousand seed weight, test weight, falling number and extract viscoelasticity characteristics. The study is a comprehensive overview of the composition of different cereal grain genotypes when grown on the same location. The relevance of the variation in composition for digestibility in different animal species will be subject of other communications.

Abstract: Over the last 32 years, a large gain in grain yield (24 %) was achieved in official German variety trials, and despite considerable loss in protein concentration (−79 %), winter wheat baking quality was partially improved over the last 32 years On-farm gain in grain yield (32 %) exceeded gain in trials, but at yield level about 25 dt ha −1 lower Breeding progress was very successfully transferred into both progress in grain yield and on-farm baking quality Long-term gains in grain yield and baking quality of 316 winter wheat varieties from German official trials were evaluated We dissected progress into a genetic and a non-genetic part to quantify the contribution of genetic improvement We further investigated the influence of genotype and environment on total variation by estimating variance components We also estimated genetic and phenotypic correlation between quality traits For trial data, we found a large gain in grain yield (24%), but a strong decline in protein concentration (−80%) and loaf volume (−85%) relative to 1983 Improvement of baking quality could be achieved for falling number (58%), sedimentation value (79%), hardness (134%), water absorption (12%) and milling yield (24%) Grain yield, falling number and protein concentration were highly influenced by environment, whereas for sedimentation value, hardness, water absorption and loaf volume genotypes accounted for more than 60% of total variation Strong to very strong relations exist among protein concentration, sedimentation value, and loaf volume On-farm yields were obtained from national statistics, and grain quality data from samples collected by national harvest survey These on-farm data were compared with trial results On-farm gain in grain yield was 316%, but at a mean level about 25 dt ha−1 lower Improvement of on-farm quality exceeded trial results considerably A shift to varieties with improved baking quality can be considered as the main reason for this remarkable improvement of on-farm baking quality