Effects of cultivar, seed rate, N rate and plant growth regulator on key processing quality parameters of winter and spring-sown oats

The effects of three seeding rates (250, 350 and 450 seeds/m2), six applied N rates (40, 70, 100, 130, 160 and 190 kg N/ha) and the application of plant growth regulator on the grain quality of two spring oat cultivars (Husky and Keely) were evaluated at four spring-sown sites over a 3-year period (2016–2018). The same cultivars, seeding rates and five applied N rates (80, 110, 140, 170 and 200 kg N/ha) were evaluated at three winter-sown sites, in 2017–2019. Keely had a significantly higher kernel content (KC) in spring (0.7%) and winter-sown (0.6%) oats. Specific weight (SW) decreased as N rate increased in spring-sown crops (1 kg/hl) with no effect observed in winter-sown oats. Hullability (HB) increased (0.92%) in spring-sown crops as N rate increased with a reduction (0.9%) observed when winter-sown. Increases in grain protein percentage (GPP) were observed in spring (1.8%) and winter (1.2%) sowings in response to N rate. The application of plant growth regulator reduced SW (0.4 kg/hl), GPP (0.3%), KC (0.6%) with no effect on HB. Kernel size was highly responsive too applied N rate, with reductions in grains >2.5 mm and increases in grains of smaller size observed as N rate increased. HB had a marked relationship to kernel size with GP inconsistently linked to SW. The results of this study suggest that cultivar, N rate and PGR application are of importance to milling quality and that changes in grain size in response to agronomic practices contribute to changes in specific weight and hullability.

Effect of Kernel Size and Its Potential Interaction with Genotype on Key Quality Traits of Durum Wheat

This study was conducted to evaluate the influence of kernel size and its potential interaction with genotype on durum wheat quality with emphases on kernel physical characteristics, milling performance, and color-related quality parameters. Wheat samples of seven genotypes, selected from the 2018 Canadian durum variety registration trial, were segregated into large (LK), medium (MK), and small-sized kernels (SK). In general, the kernel size greatly affected the durum wheat milling performance. Within a given size fraction, a strong impact of genotype was shown on the test weight of SK and the milling yields of MK and LK. Particularly, the MK fraction, segregated from the genotypes with superior milling quality, had a higher semolina yield than LK from the genotypes of inferior milling quality, inferring the importance of intrinsic physicochemical properties of durum kernels in affecting milling quality. SK exhibited inferior milling quality regardless of the genotypes selected. A strong impact of genotype was shown for the total yellow pigment (TYP) content and yellowness of semolina, while the kernel size had a significant impact on the brightness and redness of the semolina and pasta. Despite SK possessing much higher TYP, the semolina and pasta prepared from SK were lower in brightness and yellowness but with elevated redness.

Alleles of the GRF3-2A Gene in Wheat and Their Agronomic Value

The Growth-regulating factors (GRF) are a family of plant-specific transcription factors that have roles in plant growth, development and stress response. In this study the diversity of the TaGRF3-2A (TraesCS2A02G435100) gene was investigated in Russian bread wheat germplasm by means of next generation sequencing and molecular markers, and the results compared with those from multiple wheat genome and exome sequencing projects. The results showed that an allele possessing c.495G>T polymorphism found in Bezostaya 1 and designated as TaGRF3-2Ab, is connected with earlier heading and better grain filling under conditions of the Krasnodar Krai. TaGRF3-2Ab is more frequent among Russian winter wheat cultivars than in other germplasms found in the world, implying that it is adaptive for the Chernozem region. A new rare mutation of the TaGRF3-2A was found in the spring wheat cultivar Novosibirskaya 67. The molecular markers developed will facilitate utilization of TaGRF3-2A mutations in future agronomic studies and wheat improvement. Albeit GRF3-2Ab may be good at maintaining high milling quality of the grain, it should be used with caution in breeding of winter wheat cultivars in the perspective of climate change.

The Genetic Architecture of Milling Quality in Spring Oat Lines of the Collaborative Oat Research Enterprise

Most oat grains destined for human consumption must possess the ability to pass through an industrial de-hulling process with minimal breakage and waste. Uniform grain size and a high groat to hull ratio are desirable traits related to milling performance. The purpose of this study was to characterize the genetic architecture of traits related to milling quality by identifying quantitative trait loci (QTL) contributing to variation among a diverse collection of elite and foundational spring oat lines important to North American oat breeding programs. A total of 501 lines from the Collaborative Oat Research Enterprise (CORE) panel were evaluated for genome-wide association with 6 key milling traits. Traits were evaluated in 13 location years. Associations for 36,315 markers were evaluated for trait means across and within location years, as well as trait variance across location years, which was used to assess trait stability. Fifty-seven QTL influencing one or more of the milling quality related traits were identified, with fourteen QTL mapped influencing mean and variance across location years. The most prominent QTL was Qkernel.CORE.4D on chromosome 4D at approximately 212 cM, which influenced the mean levels of all traits. QTL were identified that influenced trait variance but not mean, trait mean only and both.

Physical and Milling Quality of Milled Rice in Indonesia

More than 250 rice varieties are grown in Indonesia from new superior varieties and local varieties with aromatic, non-aromatic aromas and pigmented rice. Rice quality is one factor that must be considered in addition to high productivity. Generally, the quality of grain and rice quality in Indonesia have met the quality standards set based on SNI 0224-1987/SPI-TAN/01/01/1993 and SNI 6128:2020. Ricequality is determined by several factors such as grain appearance, nutritional value, cooking and eating quality and become one of the foremost considerations for rice buyers. Such information can be utilized as basic data of character of genetic resources on assembling of new superior varieties by rice breeders. Those information can be used as a descriptive information for farmers and rice productivity, high yield, and better rice quality. Good quality local cultivar can be used as parents for the formation of new superior varieties.

Targeting millers to improve rice marketing in Uganda

PurposeImproving milling quality is expected to improve the quality of domestic rice and hence the competitiveness of Uganda's rice industry. Therefore, this study aims to assess the determinants of four aspects of milling, namely, choice of milling technology, millers' perceptions of the importance of paddy quality attributes, milling return and milling capacity.Design/methodology/approachMultinomial logit, semi-nonparametric extended ordered probit, linear regression and additive nonparametric models are applied to cross-sectional data obtained from a sample of 196 rice millers.FindingsPhysical, economic, institutional, technological and sociodemographic factors are found to be important determinants of the four aspects of milling. Physical factors include the distance of the mill from major town and availability of storage space at the milling premises, while economic factors include milling charge and backward integration of miller into paddy production. Contracting and use of a single-pass mill are important institutional and technological factors, respectively, and miller's household size, age, gender and education are the key sociodemographic variables.Originality/valueThe study's originality lies in its scope, especially in terms of its breadth. Without compromising the needed analytical rigor, it focuses on four aspects of milling that are critical to improving the marketing of Uganda's rice. In doing so, it provides a holistic understanding of this segment of the value chain and offers specific recommendations for improving the marketing of Uganda's rice.

Genotype and Environment Affect the Grain Quality and Yield of Winter Oats (Avena sativa L.)

The extent to which the quality and yield of plant varieties are influenced by the environment is important for their successful uptake by end users particularly as climatic fluctuations are resulting in environments that are highly variable from one growing season to another. The genotype-by-environment interaction (GEI) of milling quality and yield was studied using four winter oat varieties in multi-locational trials over 4 years in the U.K. Significant differences across the 22 environments were found between physical grain quality and composition as well as grain yield, with the environment having a significant effect on all of the traits measured. Grain yield was closely related to grain number m−2 whereas milling quality traits were related to grain size attributes. Considerable genotype by environment interaction was obtained for all grain quality traits and stability analysis revealed that the variety Mascani was the least sensitive to the environment for all milling quality traits measured whereas the variety Balado was the most sensitive. Examination of environmental conditions at specific within-year stages of crop development indicated that both temperature and rainfall during grain development were correlated with grain yield and β-glucan content and with the ease of removing the hull (hullability).

Determination of optimal parboiling conditions for nigerian FARO-44 rice variety

Optimization study was carried out on the parboiling process variables for improving the milling quality of FARO-44 rice variety using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) in Central Composite Design (CCD). The variables studied were initial soaking temperature (IST), soaking time (SKt) and steaming time (STt) including their interactive effects.The range of the input variables studied were 70-90oC, 8-12hrs and 40-50minsfor initial soaking temperature, soaking time and steaming time respectively. For thisstudy, a total of twenty (20) randomized experimental runs comprising one (1) replicate of factorial point, one (1) replicate of axial point (alpha 2.7) and six (6) centre point in the design space. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) were performed on the experimental data sets and models were fitted for all the response variables generated. The result showed that the optimal parboiling variables were, 90 0C, 46mins and 10 hours,for initial soaking temperature, steaming time and soaking time respectively with their corresponding optimum response 58.7%, 6.7% and 58.1% for Head rice yield (based on parboiled paddy weight), breakage ratio and milled rice colour (based on illumination). The composite desirability is 0.793 which maximized the percentage Head rice yield (HRY) and milled rice colour (MRC) but minimized the percentage Breakage Ratio (BR). Keywords: optimization, Response Surface Methodology, FARO-44, Rice,Head rice, parboiling