Effect of harvesting stage, storage and processing on nutritional and industrial quality of wheat

To meet the energy need of the ever growing world’s population, wheat is the second most widely gowned cereal after rice in the world. Nutritional deterioration starts right from the field before harvesting the crops to the storage and the final consumption (processing loss). The importance of wheat is mainly due to the fact that its grain can be processed into various end products like flour, semolina, and other bakery products. The quality of these products is directly proportional to preserving the nutrient density of wheat while processing. The wheat grain contains 2-3% germ, 13-17% bran and 80-85% mealy endosperm. The wheat bran is mainly rich in fiber (53%), vitamin B complex and minerals which are lost from the starchy endosperm during the first stage of milling. The endosperm mainly contains energy-yielding starch. The germ lies at one end of the grain which is rich in proteins (25%) and lipids (8-13%). Therefore, understanding the proper stage of grain harvesting, storage and processing would save the nutritional values of the grains.