INFLUENCE OF SHRIVELING AND BREAKAGE OF WHEAT KERNELS ON GLUTEN CONTENTS AND ITS QUALITY

Shriveled and broken kernels of wheat are important quality attributes. They are known to reduce the milling yield and quality of wheat. However, insufficient information on the effects of shriveled and broken kernels on end-use quality of wheat is available. The study was aimed to investigate the effect of shriveled and broken kernels on the quality and quantity of gluten in wheat. Ten Pakistani wheat varieties were separated into normal, shriveled and broken kernels. The gluten contents (wet and dry) and water binding in wet gluten were determined in normal, shriveled and broken kernels in ten Pakistani wheat varieties. Among all the grain fragments, the highest values for gluten content and water binding capacity was found in shriveled kernels while lowest values were recrded in broken kernels. Inconsistent gluten indices were observed among the normal, shriveled and broken kernels. The results suggest that the and end-use properties of wheat can be greatly influenced by the proportion of shriveled and broken grains in wheat subjected to processing.