• Authors:
    • Arendt, E.
    • Klose, C.
  • Source: Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition
  • Volume: 52
  • Issue: 7
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: Oats ( Avena sativa L.) are distinct among cereals due to their considerably higher protein concentration. At the same time oats possess a protein quality of high nutritional value and a special protein composition. Most cereals like wheat, barley, and rye have a high percentage of prolamins, the alcohol-soluble fraction, which usually contains most of the storage proteins, but oats are an exception. Their major storage proteins belong to the salt-water soluble globulin fraction, whereas oats prolamins are a minor component. During oats groat development, most obvious is the fairly linear increase in the globulin fraction. Oats globulins share structural features with the 11 S globulins of legumes and other dicots. Amino acid composition of oats is superior to that of other cereals due to the higher amount of limiting amino acids like lysine and threonine. During germination, total amino acid analysis revealed an increase in essential amino acids like lysine and tryptophan, which leads to an increased nutritional value of germinated oats. Oats protein products including globulin have been chemically modified by various methods to improve their functional properties.
  • Authors:
    • Polyanskaya, N.
    • Suslov, S.
    • Kuchin, N.
  • Source: Ekonomika Sel'skokhozyaistvennykh i Pererabatyvayushchikh Predpriyatii
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: In 2009, production of leguminous and cereal grain crops in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod Oblast' totalled 1 432 400 tonnes, and the average crop yield was 2.44 tonnes/ha - the highest yield in 50 years. However extremely hot and dry weather conditions in 2010 caused a sharp reduction in harvest volumes, so that Nizhny Novgorod Oblast' had a total harvest of just 541 500 tonnes and an average crop yield of 1.36 tonnes/ha. 2010 harvest figures for the region were significantly lower than in 2006, when the total harvest volume was 1 169 900 tonnes and the average crop yield 2.05 tonnes/ha. Crop yields in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast' vary significantly between years, with yields being highly dependent on climate conditions. The greatest variation in yields occurs with maize, millet, and buckwheat crops. Strong variation in yields is also evident for wheat and leguminous crops, and moderate variation occurs in yields of rye, barley, and oats. For agricultural enterprises, the most significant factor influencing their production volumes and incomes is the structure of crops produced. The structure of crops produced in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast' has changed significantly since the pre-reform period, with a marked shift towards cultivation of food grade cereal grains, and away from production of feed crops. In 2010, wheat accounted for 56.8% of the region's total harvest, barley 21.9%, oats 10.7%, rye 7.6%, legumes 2.5%, triticale 0.4%, and groats crops 0.1%. Agricultural organizations continue to be the main cereal grain producers, despite increases in land areas used for cereal grain cultivation by private (peasant) farmers. In 2010, agricultural enterprises accounted for 92.2% of cereal grain production. Individual secondary farms account for only an insignificant proportion of grain crop production. Problems faced by enterprises operating in the region's cereal grain segment include a poor technical base, low rates of fertiliser application, and difficulties in securing suitably qualified workers. Approximately 80% of machines used by these enterprises have been in use for longer than their intended operating life. These problems have adverse effects on the efficiency of harvesting operations and on crop yields. It is important to address these issues if higher and more stable production volumes are to be achieved, and the profitability of crop production activities improved.
  • Authors:
    • Lindedam, J.
    • Bruun, S.
    • Larsen, S.
  • Source: Biomass & Bioenergy
  • Volume: 45
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: Straw is a by-product from cereal production which constitutes a considerable biomass resource, for instance for 2G ethanol production. Straw yield per hectare and straw quality in terms of ethanol production are both important factors for the available biomass resource and the potential ethanol production per hectare. In a series of field trials on three locations in 2009, we compared straw and grain yield from the winter cereal species triticale, winter barley, winter rye, and winter wheat. Grain yield did not differ significantly between the species, but winter rye yielded up to 59% more straw dry matter than the other species. The release of glucose and xylose after pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis i.e. the saccharification potential was used to indicate the potential for ethanol production. The saccharification potential did not differ between species, but due to the differences in straw yield, areal saccharification potential (i.e. potential sugar production per hectare) was from 29% to 78% higher for winter rye than for other species. In a series of winter wheat cultivar trials on two locations in 2008 and three locations in 2009, straw yield differed significantly between cultivars in both years and across years. The highest yielding cultivar yielded up to 57% and 37% more straw than the lowest yielding cultivar in the two years, respectively, even among cultivars with non-significant differences in grain yield. The saccharification potential was measured from straw of winter wheat cultivar trials harvested in 2009. The potential varied largely but was not significantly affected by neither cultivar nor location. Due to cultivar differences in straw yield, however, areal saccharification potential differed significantly between cultivars with up to 38% difference in glucose yield and up to 35% in xylose yield. Straw yield increased with increasing grain yield, but the straw:grain ratio differed significantly between cultivars and was not consistent across years and locations. This has implications for straw resource estimates when these are based on the relationship between grain yield and straw yield. In conclusion, it appears possible to choose species and cultivars with higher straw yield and consequently larger potential for ethanol production per hectare without compromising grain yield. This may provide a means of increasing the overall straw resource, as long as increased straw yield is not accompanied by negative effects such as increased tendency to lodging.
  • Authors:
    • Lemanczyk, G.
  • Source: Journal of Plant Protection Research
  • Volume: 52
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: Winter cereals (wheat, triticale, rye, barley) grown in experimental fields were assessed for sharp eyespot. Preceding crops (spring cereals and fallow) and weed control (herbicides application, no control) were taken into account. The health status evaluation was carried out at the stem elongation phase and at the milk maturity stage. The macroscopic estimation was accompanied by the analysis of fungal species identified on stem bases and roots, which showed various disease symptoms. The analysis of fungal species from the genus Rhizoctonia were especially noted. Mycological analysis of roots was carried out at the seedling growth and stem elongation phase, and stem bases at the seedling growth and milk maturity stage. Infection caused by Rhizoctonia spp. was confirmed by polymeraze chain reaction (PCR) assay. The highest infection was noted on wheat followed by triticale, rye and barley. Occurrence of sharp eyespot depended more on weed control than on what the preceding crop had been. At the milk maturity stage, lower severity of sharp eyespot of triticale, rye and barley was noted on plots not treated with herbicides, and on wheat with herbicide application. The research showed a significant effect of the preceding crop only on the health status of wheat. At the milk maturity stage, the highest infection was noted after spring triticale and the lowest after oats. Stems of cereals with sharp eyespot symptoms and healthy stems were settled mainly by Rhizoctonia cerealis (wheat - 25.6%, triticale - 12.0%, rye - 22.2%, barley - 11.3%), rarely by R. solani (respectively 6.0, 4.0, 2.9 and 1.8%). Rhizoctonia solani was isolated more often from roots with true eyespot and Fusarium foot rot symptoms. It may suggest that R. cerealis was the main causal agent of sharp eyespot on all tested cereals. The preceding crop did not affect the composition of Rhizoctonia species.
  • Authors:
    • Pietrusiewicz, J.
    • Horn, R.
    • Lipiec, J.
    • Siczek, A.
  • Source: Soil & Tillage Research
  • Volume: 121
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: Soil compaction affects pore structure and thereby plant root growth. Elongation and anatomy of seedling roots of wheat ( Triticum aestivum), barley ( Hordeum vulgare), rye ( Secale cereale), triticale ( Triticosecale Wittmack) and maize ( Zea mays) grown in uncompacted bulk field (U) and compacted headland (C) Orthic Luvisol developed from loess of the same field were compared. The seedlings were grown in a growth chamber for 7 days, in cores with undisturbed silt loam taken from 5 to 10 cm depths at compacted and uncompacted sites. Transverse root sections were taken from 25 to 30 mm behind the apex following imbedding in resin. Areas of cortex and vascular cylinder in the sections were determined using the Zeiss LSM Image Examiner. Total root length was smaller in C compared with U by, approximately, 50% for barley to 79% for triticale. Anatomical responses of the roots to soil compaction were related to the general shape of roots (circular or flattened), likely induced by the shape of pores. In the circular roots of wheat, rye and maize the primary anatomical response to soil compaction were the invaginations and associated cell deformation in the cortex. This was mostly pronounced in maize, with greater inherent root diameter. However, in the flattened roots of barley and triticale deformation of root cells was observed both in the cortex and vascular cylinder with less pronounced invaginations. Depending on plant species, the area of cortex and/or vascular cylinder decreased or increased in response to soil compaction. Total cross section area of roots increased in C compared to U among the small-grain cereals, from 9.5 in wheat to 132% in rye, while no differences could be detected in maize. The results indicate that the root elongation and anatomy exhibit considerable plasticity in response to soil compaction and strength of the local environment around the roots.
  • Authors:
    • Limon, M.
    • Blanco-Moure, N.
    • Lopez, M.
    • Gracia, R.
  • Source: Soil & Tillage Research
  • Volume: 118
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: Conservation tillage has been encouraged as a management alternative to preserve soil and water resources in semiarid Aragon (NE Spain). In fact, its adoption by farmers, and especially of no tillage (NT) systems, has increased in recent years. However, little information concerning the soils on which these techniques are applied is available for this region. The objective of this study was to assess the potential of NT to increase organic carbon content at the soil surface (0-20 cm) in rainfed Aragon. To this aim, 22 pairs of adjacent farm fields under NT and conventional tillage (CT) were compared in different cereal production areas. The fields were under continuous NT between 5 and 19 years but half were over 10 years. Soil organic carbon (SOC) in NT ranged from 7.06 to 18.53 g kg -1 (0-20 cm depth) and was higher than 12 g kg -1 in nearly 30% of the fields. These contents represented between 8% less (only one case) and 55% more SOC under NT than under CT with an average gain of 20% in favour of NT. The highest SOC contents were found in the NT fields of longer duration (>10 years) and/or managed with practices that enhance the return of more crop biomass to the soil (complete residue return, cropping intensification and manure application). The identification of the current management practices used by farmers has allowed us to know the diversity of the NT-based cropping systems and the reality of the conservation agriculture in our region. Overall, results from this on-farm study indicate that NT can be recommended as a viable alternative to CT to increase organic carbon at the soil surface in cereal production areas of Aragon.
  • Authors:
    • Irene, N.
    • Methner, F.
    • Koch, M.
    • Riess, S.
    • Muller, C.
    • Maul, R.
  • Source: Food Chemistry
  • Volume: 131
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: In food, the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) often occurs in conjunction with its 3-beta-D-glucopyranoside (D3G). The transformation of DON to D3G through glucosylation is catalysed by plant enzymes, however, the exact circumstances are not well understood. In order to investigate the role of enzymatic glucosylation in germinating grains, DON treated kernels were steeped and germinated under laboratory conditions. Furthermore, the effect of malting on the DON content of the contaminated barley was investigated. In all cases, DON and its derivatives were quantified by HPLC-MS/MS before, during and after the experiments. Amongst the six tested cereals; wheat, rye, barley, spelt, and millet transformed DON to D3G during germination whilst the oats were inactive. For wheat, barley, and spelt the initial DON content was reduced by 50%, with the loss being almost entirely accounted for by D3G formation. As D3G might be cleaved during digestion, the elevated D3G concentration may obscure the toxicologically relevant DON content in processed food and beer. The germination process has a major influence on the "masking" of DON, leading to high quantities of D3G that may be missed in common mycotoxin analyses.
  • Authors:
    • Paliwal, J.
    • Mebatsion, H.
    • Jayas, D.
  • Source: Biosystems Engineering
  • Volume: 111
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: An algorithm to classify cereal grains, namely: barley, oats, rye and wheat (Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD) and Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS)) based on grain kernel shapes using invariant elliptic Fourier descriptors (IEFDs) was developed. Boundary contours were extracted from the digital images of kernels, expressed as chain-coded points and then approximated by 13 Fourier harmonics. After normalisation of the size, rotation and starting point of the contours, the IEFDs were determined. Based on the first three IEFDs, perfect classification was achieved for barley, CWAD, CWRS and rye. The classification accuracies of oats were 99.7% and 100% for the first three and five IEFDs, respectively.
  • Authors:
    • Bem, C.
    • Horst, T.
    • Agnolin, C.
    • Fontaneli, R.
    • Olivo, C.
    • Meinerz, G.
  • Source: REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE ZOOTECNIA-BRAZILIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
  • Volume: 41
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: The objective of this research was to evaluate early growth, yield and canopy characteristics of 12 genotypes of six species of winter cereals with double purpose (forage and grains) submitted to harvest at Depressao Central region of Rio Grande do Sul state, South Region of Brazil. Species and genotypes tested were: BRS 277, BRS Guatambu, BRS Taruma and BRS Umbu wheat; Agro Zebu, UPFA 21 - Moreninha and Commom black-oat; UPF 18 white-oat; BR 1 and BRS Serrano rye; BRS Marciana barley; and BRS 148 triticale. The genotypes were distributed in 36 experimental plots, in a completely randomized design with 12 treatments, three replications and repeated measure. Studied variables were herbage mass, botanical and structural composition, forage and grains production. The earliest genotypes for forage production were BR 1 rye and BRS 148 triticale. BRS Taruma wheat presented higher forage and leaf blade production. BRS Umbu wheat presented higher grains yield and hectoliter weight. Among the genotypes evaluated, BRS Taruma wheat is the most suitable for double purpose in Depressao Central region of Rio Grande do Sul state.
  • Authors:
    • Urminska, D.
    • Socha, P.
    • Mickowska, B.
    • Cieslik, E.
  • Source: Journal of Microbiology, Biotechnology and Food Sciences
  • Volume: 1
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: The aim of this study was to compare the prolamin complex of several varieties of cereals: 16 varieties of wheat (including common, durum and spelt wheat), 8 varieties of barley, 3 varieties of triticale and 1 variety of rye. In amino acids composition the major part represent glutamic acid in all type of prolamins (38-43%) but there were some differences between content of proline (in wheat and triticale it was 17%, in rye 20% but in barley 25%). By ELISA based on monoclonal antibody R5 it was showed positive reaction in relation to coeliac disease active peptides. Immunoblot based on polyclonal gluten antibody detected only proteins with molecular weight higher than 35 kDa.