Effects of wheat kernel size on hardness and various quality characteristics

Kernel size and hardness are important for millers and they should be controlled prior to milling. The kernel hardness also determines end-use quality of wheat. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of kernel size on wheat kernel characteristics, especially kernel hardness, milling yield and various flour quality properties. Three bread wheat varieties (Bayraktar 2000, Demir 2000 and Ikizce 96) were used after separating them into three kernel size groups. As expected, 1000 kernel weight significantly (P<0.05) decreased with decreasing kernel size. Results of three hardness tests (single kernel characterisation system, pearling index and particle size index) were parallel and hardness of the samples significantly increased (P<0.05) as the kernel size decreased. Flour yields were generally lower in the smaller kernels. However, the decrease in flour yield was not significant for cv Bayraktar 2000. In two cultivars protein content and wet gluten had a significant (P<0.05) decreasing tendency with decreasing kernel size while those of the third cultivar were not affected by kernel size. Sedimentation values of the samples were not affected by kernel size. Overall, small kernels did not seem to influence flour quality while they generally had a detrimental effect on milling yield.