August 21, 2003

 

Syrian Researcher at NDSU to Study Durum Wheat

A researcher from Syria has spent the past few months working with North Dakota State University cereal and plant scientists to characterize chemical compositions and food quality of Syria’s durum lines. Ghassan El-Khayot, is a professor and chair of the Food Sciences department at the University of Damascus. El-Khayat was at NDSU on a Fullbright scholarship and was hosted by NDSU food scientist, Sam Chang.

El-Khayat brought with him nine durum lines, five currently in use and four still in the accreditation process. "What I did, in conjunction with the NDSU researchers, was compare our durum lines with those from North Dakota," El-Khayat says. "We found that the North Dakota lines are better and have different qualities. The research we did will help me show our durum breeders where we should concentrate to improve our durum."

Syria exports some of its durum to nearby countries but needs to improve the quality to attract the attention of world markets. Almost half of Syria’s durum harvest is put into storage each year. "If we could export more, it would save us a great deal of storage costs," El-Khayat says. Durum grown in Syria is mostly used to make pita bread.

El-Khayat came to NDSU because of its reputation for utilizing durum wheat for various types of food products. The equipment in the University of Damascus food science department is not as sophisticated and advanced as that of NDSU’s. In the next few years the University of Damascus hopes to build a new building, which would house his department and have new equipment, El-Khayat says.

While at NDSU, El-Khayat worked with several researchers including Frank Manthey, an assistant professor in NDSU's Cereal Science department and Elias Elias, Department of Plant Sciences durum wheat breeder. "It was a very productive time for me at NDSU," El-Khayot says. "I hope that in the future some of the NDSU researchers will be able to visit and study in Syria. Elias Elias is also from Syria so I think I have some leverage in convincing him to visit our country." Manthey and El-Khayat will be co-authoring a publication once they’ve completed their analysis of the data.

North Dakota and Syria are similar in that both rely heavily on agriculture and the two are similar in size. "North Dakota farmers are far more mechanized, because of the larger farms, than those in Syria," El-Khayat says. "But we are improving."

El-Khayat’s research at NDSU was cut short by a few weeks after he learned that he had been appointed to a consultant’s post with the Syrian government. As a food scientist, he will work with a group to ensure that Syria complies with new food safety and quality standards set forth by the United Nations. He had hoped to visit relatives in California, whom he hasn’t seen since 1982, before his departure. "I hope to return to North Dakota someday and then hopefully I’ll get the chance to visit them."

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Source: Sam Chang, (701) 231-7485, kow.chang@ndsu.nodak.edu
Editor: Rich Mattern, (701) 231-6136, richard.mattern@ndsu.nodak.edu