An analysis of selected physical properties of ancient wheat species

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed a revived interest in ancient wheats on account of their health-promoting properties. The aim of this study was to determine selected physical properties of hulled and hulless kernels of ancient wheats for optimizing the parameters of seed processing operations such as husking, cleaning, and sorting. The geometric parameters (length, width and thickness), mass, and angle of external friction (on steel and PVC) of hulled and hulless spelt, emmer, and einkorn kernels were determined. The spikelets and kernels of ancient wheats are characterized by similar physical properties and differ most considerably in mass.