Journal of Stored Products Research 62 (2015) 8e15

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Journal of Stored Products Research

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jspr

Influence of storage conditions on the quality properties of wheat

varieties
Hakan Kibar
Department of Seed Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Bolu, Turkey

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Effects on the quality properties in real storage conditions and galvanized steel silos for wheat varieties
Received 11 December 2014 (cv. Bezostaya and Lancer) in the 180 day storage period were investigated. The wheat quality properties
Received in revised form including grain moisture, crude protein, hectoliter weight, thousand grain weight, Zeleny sedimentation,
4 March 2015
wet gluten, dry gluten, and falling number were monitored in the laboratory in three replicates at regular
Accepted 8 March 2015
intervals. From these results, crude protein, hectoliter weight, and thousand grain weight of Bezostaya
Available online
and Lancer wheat varieties decreased with an increase in storage period. Grain moisture, Zeleny sedi-
mentation, wet gluten, and dry gluten increased with storage period until the first two months and
Keywords:
Wheat
subsequently decreased. However, grain moisture for Lancer wheat increased until the third month of
Storage conditions storage, after which it decreased. Falling number increased with increase in storage period.
Temperature © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Relative humidity
Silo

1. Introduction control would minimise loss in quality (Uthayakumaran and

Wheat is unique as a source of the gluten proteins that alone
have the dough-forming properties needed to make the variety of
foods that rely on the rheology of dough, namely, leavened breads,
pasta, noodles, flat/pocket breads, steamed breads, biscuits, cakes,
pastries and various food ingredients. Therefore wheat, an essential
part of the diet of most of the world's population, is prominent in
world trade (Uthayakumaran and Wrigley, 2010).
In addition to the importance of genotype (variety) in deter-
mining grain quality, growth and storage conditions have the ca-
pacity to modify the built-in genetic potential for grain quality. In
the same way, knowledge of the storage history of a grain
consignment may be a valuable indicator of possible loss of quality
due to improper storage. The knowledge of grain behaviour during
storage, safe guidelines for storage, grain and facility management
and quality control procedures can be used to minimise quality loss
in stored wheat. The physical, chemical and biological properties of
wheat grain along with the environmental conditions during
growth, harvesting methods and handling practices prior to storage
influence storability (Mills, 1992; Cenkowski and Zhang, 1995).
Cleaning harvested material to remove high risk debris, broken
seeds, chaff and dust improves airflow and prevents hot spots.
Drying the grain to optimum moisture content and proper pest
E-mail address: hakan.kibar@ibu.edu.tr.
Wrigley, 2010).
For satisfactory storage, preventing grain moisture loss and
controlling moisture exchange is an important management pro-
cess of farm-stored grain because grain adsorbs or desorbs mois-
ture under changing environmental conditions (Jian et al., 2009).
Hectoliter weight is an important indicator of the physical
quality of wheat and has long been recognised as an indicator of the
potential flour yield (Manley et al., 2009). Many researchers have
investigated the effectiveness of hectoliter weight as a guide to
flour yield (Gooding and Davies, 1997; Posner and Hibbs, 2005).
Technological quality of wheat for the milling, baking and flour
use is determined by the protein quantity and quality and the state
of the carbohydrateeamylase complex, thus the degree of starch
damage and amylase content. The determination of these features
in both the cultivation process and manufacture is carried out by
common standardised methods, the results of which are the main
indicators of wheat quality-crude protein, falling number and
Zeleny sedimentation values. These parameters influence the
qualities of mill, flour and baker's products in a decisive way
(Hruskova et al., 2004). After 5-months storage in four different
silos Mhiko (2012) found a decrease of grain moisture and hecto-
liter weight, crude protein values and an increase of falling number.
Some research has been conducted to examine the effects of
different storage conditions on quality properties of wheat such as
grain moisture, crude protein, hectoliter weight, gluten content,

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jspr.2015.03.001
0022-474X/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 H. Kibar / Journal of Stored Products Research 62 (2015) 8e15
falling number and Zeleny sedimentation. Sisman and Ergin (2011)
found that grain moisture, hectoliter weight, wet gluten and sedi-
mentation decreased with increase of storage period for 7 months
in three different storage types. Gonz
alez-Torralba et al. (2013)
reported that grain moisture, glutenin and falling number
decreased as storage period increased. Polat (2013) reported a
decrease of crude protein in four different storage types (above-
ground storage, vertical-steel silo, horizontal-reinforced concrete
storage and vertical-reinforced concrete silo) with increasing
storage period (12 months).
The aim of this paper was to evaluate the quality changes (crude
protein, hectoliter weight, thousand grain weight, Zeleny sedi-
mentation, wet gluten, dry gluten, and falling number) of stored
Bezostaya and Lancer wheat varieties over a 6-month storage
period under real storage conditions.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Wheat silo
The experiments were conducted in two galvanized steel silos
located in Igdir, Turkey. The silos consisted of a cylindrical bin and a
conical hopper. They were 6 m in diameter and 30 m high, with a 3-
m high conical hopper and a wall thickness of 7 mm (Fig. 1). The
wheat was automatically transported to the silo, and it was
unloaded by bunker systems. The roof was fitted with galvanized
steel systems. There was natural ventilation system in each silo
including a roof, doors, and windows. In this study, two wheat
varieties, Bezostaya and Lancer, were used to fill Silos A and B,
respectively.
The silos were filled with wheat on 1 June 2013. The entire
experiment ended on 27 November 2013. The initial grain moisture
for Bezostaya and Lancer wheats were 10.90% and 11.23% (w.b.),
respectively. The ninhydrin technique was used to test for the
presence of visually undetectable insects (Dennis and Decker, 1962;
Koşar, 1996). During the experimental period, insects or visible
molds were not found. No condensation was observed inside the
silos and no rain or blown snow gained entry.
2.2. Temperature and relative humidity measurement
The measurements of bulk temperature and relative humidity
(r.h.) inside in these silos were automatically recorded hourly using
Fig. 1. Locations of the temperature and r.h. sensors in the wheat silos.
9
temperature and r.h. sensors at three different locations (top,
middle and bottom) (Fig. 1). The height of the three different lo-
cations is given in Fig. 1.
2.3. Wheat moisture content measurement
The wheat moisture content (MC) was determined according to
ASABE (2008) for grains. For wheat, about 10 g of sample was un-
ground and dried at 130
C for 19 h. The grain moisture content was
calculated using the drying oven (Nuve, FN500). The grain moisture
measurements were performed in three replications. The grain
moisture content, percentage on wet basis (w.b.) is expressed as
follows (Bakker-Arkema, 1999):
Ww
MC ¼  100 (1)
Ww þ Wdm
where MC is the wheat moisture content (%), Ww is water weight of
wheat grain, and Wdm is the dry matter weight of wheat grain.
2.4. Quality tests
Samples were taken every 30 days from silos. Samples from five
different locations downward from the center of grain mass for
each test were taken from the silo. Two-kg samples for each loca-
tion at heights of 25, 20, 15, 10, and 5 m in the center of grain mass
were taken. Experimental measurements were performed after
mixing the samples to form a 10 kg unit. The hectoliter weight was
recorded using a PM 600 Agri Analyzer (Kett, Japan). To evaluate
the thousand grain weight (M1000), grains randomly selected from
the composite sample were averaged and were measured using an
electronic balance to an accuracy of 0.01 g (Markowski et al., 2013).
The values of the crude protein were measured using the methods
described by AOAC (1990a,b). The crude protein measurements
were performed in three replications. The values of wet gluten, dry
gluten, falling number and Zeleny sedimentation were measured
using the methods of AACC (2000a,b,c). The experiments were
performed in three replications.
2.5. Data analysis
Statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS 10.0 software
package. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyse the
10 H. Kibar / Journal of Stored Products Research 62 (2015) 8e15

effects of storage period on the quality properties of wheat vari-

eties. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was performed to eval-
uate the relationships among the dependent variables.
Additionally, correlation analysis was also performed. Means were
compared by Tukey's multiple comparison at the 5% level of
probability to compare the changes occurring over the storage
period.

3. Results

Daily averages of the temperature and r.h. measured outside the

silo are plotted in Fig. 2. There was an increase in temperature
(30.5
C) outside the silo at the 31st day of storage, and then the
temperature decreased until the end of November. The tempera-
ture at the end of the storage period dropped approximately 17.9
C
from its original value. Generally, there were fluctuations in the r.h.
values outside of silo. The r.h. values ranged from 27% to 88.4% and
peaked at day 180 of storage. The r.h. values increased continuously
after day 151.
Temperature values in different locations (top, middle, and
bottom) remained generally constant until the 90th day of storage
for Silo A (Fig. 3). After this period, temperature inside decreased
due to a decrease in temperature outside of silo. The r.h. values
decreased until day 60, and then showed increases (Fig. 3). The r.h.
inside of silo ranged from 61% to 69%. The r.h. inside the silo at the
end of the storage period peaked at the top location.
Temperature and r.h. inside the silo at the different locations
(top, middle, and bottom) of the Silo B is shown in Fig. 4. Tem-
perature inside the silo was stable until day 70; afterwards, tem-
perature decreased roughly in parallel with the ambient
temperature. The r.h. values decreased until day 60, and then
increased (Fig. 4). However, the r.h. at the middle and bottom lo-
cations was stable between 90 and 120 days of storage.
The results for the quality properties of stored Bezostaya wheat
grain are summarised in Fig. 5. The grain moisture content of stored
wheat increased until day 60; after the 60th day, the grain moisture
decreased. The lowest grain moisture (10.40%) was observed at day
180 (Fig. 5a). According to Tukey's multiple range test, there were
not significant differences between the ranges 60e90th and
150e180th days. Analysis of differences in the grain moisture by
Tukey's multiple range test showed significant differences between
all storage periods (P < 0.01) for stored wheat. The grain moisture
was positively correlated with hectoliter weight (P < 0.01), thou-
sand grain weight (P < 0.01), crude protein (P < 0.01), wet gluten
(P < 0.01), dry gluten (P < 0.01), Zeleny sedimentation (P < 0.01)
and negatively with the falling number (r ¼ 0.45, P < 0.05)
(Table 1).
Fig. 2. Temperature and r.h. values of the outside atmosphere during the experiment.
Fig. 3. Temperature and r.h. inside Silo A loaded with Bezostaya wheat.
Fig. 4. Temperature and r.h. inside Silo B loaded with Lancer wheat.
The crude protein of stored wheat was used as an indicator of
quality of grain during storage because crude protein is the most
sensitive attribute to storage duration. Fig. 5a shows the changes in
crude protein of stored wheat at the end of day 180. The initial
crude protein of wheat grain was 13.48% at the beginning of stor-
age. The crude protein value decreased to 11.37% after storage. The
30e90th day results were statistically similar as were the 120th and
150th days. The differences in crude protein of stored wheat
depending on storage duration were statistically significant at the
1% level. As seen in Table 1, crude protein had highly significant and
positive correlations with all the examined quality characteristics
at the 1% level except falling number with which there was a
negative and significant correlation (r ¼ 0.72, P < 0.01).
After 180 days of storage, hectoliter weight was significantly
different from the initial values only when grain had been stored at
the end of 180th day (Fig. 5b), giving the lowest hectoliter weight
values especially at 180th day. Thus, hectoliter weight decreased
from 80.86 to 75.51 kg hL1 after 180 days. According to Tukey's
multiple range test there were not significant differences between
the ranges 0e60 days and 90e120 days. Comparison of means
indicated highly significant differences between the mean values of
hectoliter weight among the various storage periods (P < 0.01). The
hectoliter weight had positive and significant correlations with all
the examined quality characteristics at the 1% level except falling
number with which there was a significant negative correlation
(r ¼ 0.77, P < 0.01) (Table 1).
Fig. 5b shows the changes in thousand grain weight of stored
Bezostaya wheat at different storage periods. The initial thousand
grain weight (i.e., at day 0) was 38.39 g it decreased to 32.57 g after
storage. Fig. 5b shows that thousand grain weight were signifi-
cantly affected by storage period (P < 0.01). Highly significant and
positive correlations were also found between thousand grain
 H. Kibar / Journal of Stored Products Research 62 (2015) 8e15 11

Fig. 5. Evaluation of quality properties depending on storage time for Bezostaya wheat. Error bars indicate the standard error of the mean.

Table 1
Pearson correlation matrix for traits measured in stored wheat varieties.

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)

Bezostaya (1) Grain moisture 1.00

(2) Hectoliter weight 0.69** 1.00
(3) Thousand grain weight 0.64** 0.92** 1.00
(4) Crude protein 0.54** 0.78** 0.82** 1.00
(5) Wet gluten 0.65** 0.89** 0.88** 0.77** 1.00
(6) Dry gluten 0.72** 0.81** 0.78** 0.79** 0.88** 1.00
(7) Falling number 0.40* 0.77** 0.81** 0.72** 0.79** 0.80** 1.00
(8) Zeleny sedimentation 0.87** 0.80** 0.75** 0.70** 0.83** 0.87** 0.68** 1.00

Lancer (1) Grain moisture 1.00

(2) Hectoliter weight 0.50* 1.00
(3) Thousand grain weight 0.53** 0.93** 1.00
(4) Crude protein 0.52** 0.94** 0.93** 1.00
(5) Wet gluten 0.70** 0.83** 0.84** 0.82** 1.00
(6) Dry gluten 0.64** 0.86** 0.79** 0.83** 0.90** 1.00
(7) Falling number 0.45* 0.75** 0.79** 0.84** 0.80** 0.70** 1.00
(8) Zeleny sedimentation 0.48* 0.83** 0.71** 0.77** 0.77** 0.86** 0.63** 1.00

*P < 0.05; **P < 0.01.

weight and the other quality characteristics except falling number
for which there was a negative and significant correlation
(r ¼ 0.81, P < 0.01).
The Zeleny sedimentation values (Fig. 5b) ranged from 47.26 ml
to 42.44 ml; values were highest at day 60 and lowest at day 180.
Statistically significant effects on Zeleny sedimentation was found
with storage duration (P < 0.01). As seen in Table 1, highly signifi-
cant correlations were also found between Zeleny sedimentation
and other quality properties.
Wet gluten was 30.22% at the first evaluation time and
decreased to 25.45% by day 180. During the 180 days of storage, the
wet gluten of the Bezostaya wheat variety decreased by about
12 H. Kibar / Journal of Stored Products Research 62 (2015) 8e15
18.74% (Fig. 5c). The 0e60th day results were statistically similar as
were those for days 90e150. Significant differences (P < 0.01) were
found between the wet gluten of stored wheat grain at different
storage durations. As seen in Table 1, wet gluten had highly sig-
nificant and positive correlations with all the examined quality
characteristics at the 1% level except falling number with which
there was a negative and significant correlation (r ¼ 0.79,
P < 0.01).
The dry gluten decreased over the full storage period with some
fluctuation, falling from 11.40% at the start to 9.73% at the finish
(Fig. 5c). Days 0e90 were not found to be statistically different in
terms of dry gluten content. After 180 days of storage, the dry
gluten was influenced by storage period (P < 0.01). The data in
Table 1 show a strong correlations between the variation of the dry
gluten for Bezostaya wheat, and falling number (negative correla-
tion; r ¼ 0.80, P < 0.01) and Zeleny sedimentation (positive cor-
relation; r ¼ 0.87, P < 0.01).
The value of the falling number of the Bezostaya stored wheat
variety decreased with increasing storage duration (Fig. 5d). The
0 and 30 day results were included in the same statistical group.
Tukey's multiple range test at the 5% level of significance showed
that the falling number of the wheat decreased significantly
(P < 0.01) during the storage period. As seen in Table 1, highly
significant and negative correlations were found between the
falling number and all other quality characteristics.
The relationship between grain moisture in stored Lancer wheat
with storage duration is shown in Fig. 6a. The initial grain moisture
of Lancer wheat when procured was 11.23% (w.b.). The grain
moisture decreased to 10.60% by the end date of storage. Grain
moisture increased, however, to 11.70% by the 90th day of storage,
and then grain moisture decreased until the end of November.
Statistical analysis showed that the relationship between storage
duration and grain moisture was statistically significant (P < 0.05).
The grain moisture was positively correlated with hectoliter weight
(P < 0.05), thousand grain weight (P < 0.01), crude protein
(P < 0.01), wet gluten (P < 0.01), dry gluten (P < 0.01), Zeleny
sedimentation (P < 0.05), and negatively correlated with the falling
number (r ¼ 0.45, P < 0.05) (Table 1).
Fig. 6a shows the changes in crude protein of stored Lancer
wheat at the end of the 180th day. The initial crude protein content
of wheat grain was 14.45% at the beginning of storage, decreasing to
8.46% by day 180. The 30th and 60th day results were statistically
similar. The differences in crude protein values of stored wheat
depending on storage period were statistically significant at the 1%
level (P < 0.01). As seen in Table 1, crude protein had highly sig-
nificant and positive correlation with all the examined quality
characteristics at the 1% level except falling number for which there
was a significant negative correlation (r ¼ 0.84, P < 0.01).
The hectoliter weight of Lancer wheat decreased from
77.49 kg hL1 by 10.27% over the storage duration. The 90th and
120th day results were statistically similar (Fig. 6b). Statistical
analysis showed that the effects of storage duration on hectoliter
weight was statistically significant (P < 0.01). The hectoliter weight
positively correlated at the 1% level with all the examined quality
characteristics except falling number for which there was the usual
negative correlation (r ¼ 0.75, P < 0.01) (Table 1).
The variation of the thousand grain weight of wheat grain with
storage duration in Fig. 6b shows that thousand grain weight
decreased from 35.74 g to 28.97 g as the storage period increased
from day 0 to the 180th day. For increasing storage period, there
was a significant difference in the values of the thousand grain
weight (P < 0.01). The Pearson correlation matrix was calculated
among the examined traits and is shown in Table 1. Though all
quality characteristics other than falling number showed signifi-
cant positive correlations at the 1% level, crude protein had the
highest significant positive correlation with thousand grain weight
(r ¼ 0.93, P < 0.01). The negative significant correlation between
thousand grain weight and falling number was r ¼ 0.79 (P < 0.01).
Though Lancer wheat Zeleny sedimentation levels showed a
slight increase for the first 60 days, after 180 days of storage levels
were significantly lower than the initial values (Fig. 6b), and the
lowest Zeleny sedimentation values were found at the end of 180th
day. The highest and lowest Zeleny sedimentation values were
56.91 ml and 51.71 ml. Analysis of differences in Zeleny sedimen-
tation by Tukey's multiple range test showed significant differences
between all storage periods (P < 0.01) for stored wheat. As seen in
Table 1, the usual correlations were found for Zeleny sedimentation
with the other quality properties.
Fig. 6c shows the average values of the apparent wet gluten of
stored Lancer wheat grain over the 180-day storage period in the
silo. There was tendency for these values to fluctuate throughout
the first half of the storage period. The 0, 30th, and 90th days were
included in the statistically same group. Effects of storage period on
wet gluten were statistically significant (P < 0.01). As seen in
Table 1, the usual correlations were found for wet gluten with the
other quality properties.
Changes in the dry gluten of stored Lancer wheat over time are
given in Fig. 6c. During storage, like wet gluten and Zeleny sedi-
mentation, dry gluten levels at first increased and then decreased
with increasing storage duration. Initially, the dry gluten of Lancer
wheat was 12.38%, while at the end of the storage period it was
10.45%. The 30 and 90th, and 150e180th days were statistically
similar but the effects of storage duration on dry gluten were sta-
tistically significant differences (P < 0.01) were found between the
of stored wheat grain at different. As seen in Table 1, the usual
correlations were found for dry gluten with the other quality
properties, the strongest correlation being with Zeleny sedimen-
tation (positive correlation; r ¼ 0.86, P < 0.01).
As for Bezostaya wheat, the falling number of Lancer wheat
increased progressively through the storage period (Fig. 6d). The
amount of increase by the end of storage was 28.34%. The 90th and
120th day results were statistically similar. Analysis of differences
in the falling number by Tukey's multiple range test showed a
significant difference for the effect of storage period (P < 0.01). As
seen in Table 1, statistically significant negative correlations were
found between the falling number and all other quality
characteristics.
The plot of the quality properties on the PCs obtained from
analysis of the effects of storage period are presented in Fig. 7a for
Bezostaya wheat and Fig. 7b for Lancer wheat. The scatter diagram
of the quality properties shows that there was high a level of di-
versity. For both wheat varieties the first principal component
(PC1) was positively related to hectoliter weight, thousand grain
weight, crude protein, wet gluten, dry gluten and Zeleny sedi-
mentation, but in contrast, falling number was related negatively to
PC1. These traits have a great influence on the quality properties.
PC1 explained 53.13% of the total variability for Bezostaya wheat
and 56.36% of the total variability for Lancer wheat. The second
principal component (PC2) had 35.57% of the total variation for
Bezostaya wheat and 30.56% for Lancer wheat. For both varieties
the grain moisture contributed positively to PC2.
4. Discussion
Safe storage period is the time of exposure of a product at a grain
moisture content to a r.h. and temperature beyond which wheat
deterioration may occur (Kaleta and Gornicki, 2013). To keep losses
low, wheat grain must be dried to the safe storage grain moisture
(i.e., the grain moisture required for long term storage) within the
safe storage period (Ekechukwu, 1999). In the present case, the
 H. Kibar / Journal of Stored Products Research 62 (2015) 8e15 13

Fig. 6. Evaluation of quality properties depending on storage time for Lancer wheat. Error bars indicate the standard error of the mean.

Fig. 7. Principal component analysis (PCA) projections on the first and the second PCA component for Bezostaya (a) and Lancer (b) wheat varieties: grain moisture (GM), hectoliter
weight (HW), thousand grain weight (TGW), crude protein (CP), wet gluten (WG), dry gluten (DG), falling number (FN), and Zeleny sedimentation (ZS).

larger part of the variation occurred towards the end of 180 days of
storage for both Bezostaya and Lancer wheat varieties. This varia-
tion was caused by changes in temperature and r.h. inside the silo
and changes in ambient temperature and r.h. outside the silo. That
result highlights the importance of temperature and r.h. during
long-term storage in comparison with the initial grain moisture
content. In addition, due to high grain moisture inside silos, insects,
mold, and spoilage can become a problem. However, this study did
not encounter very high grain humidity inside the silos, nor were
insects, mold, or deterioration found. Sawant et al. (2012) reported
that wheat grains stored in a galvanized iron corrugated silo
experienced increased grain moisture from 6 April to 6 November
and decreased grain moisture in the following months (6
November to 7 April).
14 H. Kibar / Journal of Stored Products Research 62 (2015) 8e15
High crude protein is desired for products with chewy textures.
Producers use crude protein results to anticipate water absorption
and dough development time for processes and products, because
higher crude protein usually requires more water and a longer
mixing time to achieve optimum dough consistency (Hruskova and
Machova, 2002; Adejumo, 2013). In this study, the crude protein of
stored Bezostaya wheat ranged from 13.48% to 11.37% and the crude
protein of stored Lancer wheat ranged from 14.45% to 8.46%. The
crude protein was proposed to be within the range of 10.09e16.68%
by Brandt et al. (2000) for harvested wheat. According to these
results, Bezostaya wheat is situated within the limits specified.
However, crude protein losses of Lancer wheat were higher than
that of Bezostaya wheat and fell below the range by 150 days of
storage. Similar results for the crude protein of stored wheat grain
were obtained by Polat (2013), who observed that crude protein
decreased with increasing storage duration.
Hectoliter weight is a grain quality indicator used as an
approximate measure of the expected flour yield. Better flour yield
and quality would be achieved if wheat seeds have a greater hec-
toliter weight (Karaog lu et al., 2010); therefore, it should be
maintained as high as possible. Hectoliter weight decreased
throughout storage for Bezostaya and Lancer wheat. This decrease
may be related to moisture variations (gain or loss) during those
periods. Variations in hectoliter weight during storage have been
reported to be mainly associated with grain moisture content
(Karaog lu et al., 2010). Also, the decrease in hectoliter weight is
mainly attributable to the decrease in grain density during the
storage period. The hectoliter weight decrease rate of Lancer wheat
was greater than Bezostaya wheat. Similar results were found by
Strelec et al. (2010) who investigated the effect of storage for 360
days. Hectoliter weight decreased as the duration of the storage
period increased for three wheat varieties.
Thousand grain weight, which can be used to determine the
potential flour yield for stored wheat grain, is accepted as the main
_
quality factor by the milling industry (Ilker et al., 2009; Mut et al.,
2010; Boz et al., 2012). In this study, as the storage period
increased, thousand grain weight of both wheat varieties decreased
steadily. These results support the conclusion of Thakor et al.
(2012), who reported that thousand grain weight decreased with
storage duration for paddy. De Tunes et al. (2010) also found that
during storage of harvested barley grains at different moistures, the
thousand grain weight decreased.
The Zeleny sedimentation test is used as a rapid means of esti-
mating the baking quality of wheat flour. It relies on the relation-
ship between flour baking strength and gluten hydration capacity,
which is assumed as a function of gluten quantity and quality
(Karaog lu et al., 2010). Zeleny sedimentation volume depended on
both gluten quality and quantity, and the effect of storage condi-
tions on Zeleny sedimentation was generally the same as that of
wet and dry gluten. For both Bezostaya and Lancer wheat varieties
in Silos A and B, Zeleny sedimentation generally increased during
the first 60 days of storage and thereafter decreased until day 180.
Similar results were reported by Srivastava and Rao (1994), Lukow
et al. (1995), Hruskova et al. (2004), and Karaog lu et al. (2010).
Wet gluten gives a quantitative measure of the gluten forming
proteins in flour that are mainly responsible for its dough mixing
lu et al., 2010). After the first mea-
and baking properties (Karaog
surements, the wet gluten level noticeably decreased by day 180.
However, for both wheat varieties the wet gluten slightly increased
during the first 60 days of storage in comparison to that at day 0.
Similar results for the wet gluten of stored wheat grain were ob-
tained by Karaog lu et al. (2010), who showed a fluctuating change
of wet gluten with increasing storage duration.
The change in dry gluten was similar to that of wet gluten for all
storage conditions. Wet gluten is a highly swollen colloidal gel
containing 60e70% water and, dry matter made up of 75e90%
gluten proteins (gliadins and glutenins). The water-binding ability
is defined as the difference between wet and dry gluten (Karaog lu
et al., 2010).
Falling number is an indicator of a-amylase activity and a
measurement of how far the break-down of starch has progressed
in the kernel through enzymatic activity (Karaog lu et al., 2010).
Falling number is the quality parameter that is more heavily
conditioned during the storage period. It increased between each
assessment time, although the magnitude of the increment
depended on the storage conditions. Falling number was clearly
influenced by temperature and r.h. inside the silo. This is in
accordance with previous reports that have shown an increase of
the falling number with storage duration (Srivastava and Rao, 1994;
Karaog lu et al., 2010; Gonza

lez-Torralba et al., 2013). In the present
study, initial falling number values were high enough to avoid
problems related to exceedingly high a-amylase activities. After
several months of storage, especially under high temperatures, a-
amylase activities could decrease significantly. This may affect
negatively the bread making process, since low a-amylase activities
could make the dough fermentation process run slowly (Gonza
lez-
Torralba et al., 2013).
5. Conclusions
In this study, the effects of storage time on some quality pa-
rameters such as hectoliter weight, thousand grain weight, crude
protein, wet gluten, dry gluten, falling number and Zeleny sedi-
mentation of for two different wheat varieties were studied. Ac-
cording to the results of experiments, in some months (the first
three months) the temperatures in the silos during storage were
higher than recommended values. Temperature is one of the most
important environmental factors for grain storage. Temperature
and r.h. inside the silo and the length of storage period significantly
(P < 0.05) affected deterioration of the quality properties of
Bezostaya and Lancer wheat varieties. The main reason for the in-
crease in temperature and r.h. inside the silo was due to natural
ventilation (roof, doors, and windows). From this investigation, it
was concluded that there was a correlation between grain moisture
content of the stored wheat varieties and the storage period. The
crude protein, hectoliter weight, thousand grain weight, Zeleny
sedimentation, wet gluten, and dry gluten all decreased at different
rates according to changes in the grain moisture content. However,
an increase in falling number was found. As seen from the results,
over longer storage times natural ventilation led to decreases in
product quality. In conclusion, it may be said that stored wheat is
less durable in unfavourable storage conditions such as high
moisture content and high temperature inside naturally ventilated
silos.
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