Cambios en los parámetros de calidad del trigo candeal durante el almacenamiento

The quality of newly harvested wheat and the changes that may occur during grain storage is of interest to the milling industry. The objective of this work was to study the variations in the industrial quality of durum wheat from the moment of its harvest throughout 7 months of storage. Grain and semolina parameters such as hectoliter weight, one thousand kernel weight, protein, moisture, milling yield, falling number, color, wet and dry gluten content, gluten index and farinograph properties were determined. Grain moisture was below 14% during storage time. Fluctuations of semolina extraction rates during the first months of storage were observed. Extraction values varied from 66 to 73%, stabilizing in 72% at 120 days from harvest. The falling number also presented an increasing tendency. The other quality parameters including gluten and farinograph, showed no significant variations during the storage time. The results indicate that there is no evidence of changes in quality parameters except for milling yield. This suggests the positive effect of blending old wheat with new wheat to minimize fluctuations in milling parameters.