A simple test to assess falling numbers in wheat could be available to farmers if approved by the Canadian Grain Commission.
Bayer Crop Science is developing a diagnostic kit called Wheat Rite to determine falling number equivalents. Falling number is a measure used to determine the degree of sprout damage and quality of starch in flour.
The new test can be done quickly and could be used to help segregate grain on the farm or the elevator, said Bayer’s Paul Thiel.
“We can’t take this to the market until we have a validation from the Canadian Grain Commission that it does what we claim it does,” Thiel told a joint meeting of the Western Barley Growers Association and Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association on Feb. 16.
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The commission now uses the internationally accepted Hagberg test but is considering installing equipment for the rapid viscosity assessment in terminals.
The tests assess degradation of starch quality resulting from an enzyme called alpha amylase, which increases with sprouting. It measures starch quality in cereal grain intended for flour milling. Ground wheat is made into a slurry and placed in the testing apparatus. The falling number is the time it takes a plunger to fall through the heated slurry. Falling numbers are measured in seconds and longer times are more desirable.
Thiel said initial work on the latest kit started in Australia, where it is awaiting approval.
“This is a technology we have on the shelf. It has been sitting around for two years.”
The test cassettes are slightly smaller than a playing card and have three windows showing a colour when the test is completed. The kit comes with a reader that can be plugged into a computer to give a falling number readout.
A sample is mixed in a coffee grinder and added to a vial containing a buffer material. It is agitated gently and then a small amount is placed into the cartridge. It contains a membrane with an antigen to measure the amylase in the grain. The process takes about two minutes.
Results appear as lines in a window on the cassette. A strong, bright line means the grain will likely grade lower as feed or a number three.
If the grain commission does not approve its use, there will be no commercial market, said Thiel.
Chris Hamblin, chief commissioner of the commission, said falling number tests are likely to become a grading standard in the future although current technology is slow and expensive.The commission favours rapid viscosity assessment technology but other options are on the table, she said.
“The more pieces of equipment we can have confidence in, the better. This may be a tool that is used everywhere with follow up with Hagberg or RVA technology.”
New equipment is being tested at different sites including two terminals in Manitoba and Alberta to see if they get the same results.
