The application of near infrared reflectance spectroscopy to protein‐testing in pulse breeding programmes

The technique of near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (MRS) has been applied to the determination of protein and moisture in a number of species of pulses which encompassed a very wide range of seed characteristics. Statistical analysis of the results showed that the NIRS technique is applicable to the screening of pulses for protein in breeding programmes, with r2 values ranging from 0.89 to 0.96 between Kjeldahl and NIRS protein values, and average coefficient of variability of 2.3 %. (r2 denotes the square of the correlation coefficient and indicates the percentage of variance in the dependent variable contributed by the independent variable under consideration.) The technique was equally applicable to further quality evaluation tests, including the analysis of testa/pericarp and cotyledon fractions of pigeon pea, and the analysis of corn/pulse food mixtures. Several large populations of genetic pulse lines were screened for protein, and the NIRS procedure proved itself to be a simple, rapid and economical method of screening. The standard Neotec G.Q.A. sample cell was modified to accommodate sample sizes ranging down to 1 g, for the analysis of single plant lines of lentils.