Growing Grain Handbook Section 2: Factors Influencing Flour Quality

There are three main agronomic determinants of grain quality in the Mid-Atlantic. The first two—Fusarium infections, which cause mycotoxin accumulation, starch degradation, and yield loss (Chapter 2.1), and pre-harvest sprouting, which causes starch degradation (Chapter 2.2)—are thanks to our humid springs and summers, and apply to all grain. The third—protein quality (Chapter 2.3)—applies to wheat and its relatives. Though less well studied than protein quantity, factors influencing quality are arguably just as important for food end-uses.