Cereal Chem. 83(3):284-286Five methods that employed very different testing principles and procedures for assessing gluten quality were compared for 33 North American soft red and white wheats. The three methods analyzed flour (alveograph work, lactic acid solvent retention capacity, and mixograph peak time) and two methods employed ground wheat meal (Glutomatic gluten index and SDS sedimentation volume). Compared against the normalized mean of all five assessments, the ability of the assessment methods to evaluate gluten quality decreased in the order: alveograph work, lactic acid solvent retention capacity, mixograph peak time, Glutomatic gluten index, and SDS sedimentation volume. The methods utilizing flour were substantially superior predictive methods; however, the two meal-based methods could be sufficient for early generation screening when flour is not available.

Stone-ground whole wheat flour is characterised by coarse bran particles and high germ content. Five wheat cultivars were grown over a 3-year period in eight organic farms in Quebec (Eastern Canada) to determine their respective effects on the quality of stone-ground whole wheat bread flour. Grain yield (1.2-3.9 t ha )1 ), grain protein content (11.3-13.1%, based on 13.5% moisture) and dough mixing stability (6.9-11.1 min) of whole wheat flour varied much according to the farming sites. Whole wheat flour from AC Brio significantly gave the lowest pan bread volume (P < 0.05) and best results were obtained with Celtic (whatever the farming site) and site #5 (whatever the cultivar, probably with the exception of AC Brio). Thorough wheat cultivar selection and organic field management would be critical to get whole wheat bread with the highest specific volume.

Naked oat (Avena sativa L.) grown in Québec, Canada, produces an average of 10% covered grains. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of environment, herbicide, and genotype on the proportion of covered grains, to study the relation between the presence of awns and the proportion of covered grains, and to determine the location of covered grains on the plant (tiller) and on the panicle. Eight oat lines were evaluated over 2 yr at four experimental sites. Each line was treated with bromoxynil/MCPA, dicamba/MCPA, or thifensulfuron methyl/tribenuron methyl applied at Zadoks 12–13 and compared to a hand‐weeded check. The highest percentages of covered grains, 5.5 and 6.9%, were found at different sites in 2006 and 2007. The application of dicamba/MCPA increased the percentage of covered grains in the lines normally producing a higher proportion of covered grains, but low producing lines were less affected. Minor differences were found among the other weed control treatments. No relation was found between the presence of awns and the proportion of naked grains. Covered grains were mostly produced on the main stem and their position on the panicle depended on genotype and weed control treatment.