October 2, 2003

 

White Wheat an Alternative to Red Wheat?

Advanced lines of hard white spring wheat are being evaluated at North Dakota State University for yield, protein, disease resistance, agronomic characteristics and bread baking quality, according to Bill Berzonsky, NDSU wheat breeder in the Plant Sciences Department. Berzonsky leads a team exploring white wheat and other specialty wheats for niche markets.

There is an incentive of $2 per acre to plant white wheat and 20 cents for each bushel sold as white wheat in the current farm bill. The incentives are provided in order to increase the production of white wheat intended for the large and expanding noodle market in Asia. Currently that market is dominated by wheat from Australia. Production and interest in growing hard white wheat is growing in California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska and North and South Dakota. Approximately 7,000 acres were planted to white wheat in North Dakota in 2002.

Argent is the only hard white wheat released by the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station. It has good bread baking quality but is not suited to the production of Asian noodles. NDSU has had a white wheat breeding program since 1998 to develop white wheat varieties that are competitive with hard red spring wheat varieties but still meet the quality characteristics required of white wheat.

Although there has been considerable speculation as to whether white wheat production will eventually replace red wheat production, producers need to consider white wheat carefully as an alternative. "Producers need to look at the premiums paid for production, determine if there is an end-use product and market and be able to guarantee production of high-quality grain that is identity-preserved," Berzonsky says.

The potential of white wheat as an alternative crop in the Northern Plains is exciting, Berzonsky says. "However producers should realize that the added value of white wheat compared to red is in the end-use product, not necessarily in agronomic performance. To take advantage of the added value, a grower may need to modify crop management and production practices."

End-use of the product is a strong determinant in developing hard white wheat, Berzonsky says. "In general, hard white wheat for the domestic market should have high protein and strong dough, while hard white wheat for export and noodle production should have low protein, low ash content and good starch swelling properties. Some millers point out that white bran has a higher flour extraction, has a less bitter taste and that the end product has a more favorable appearance."

Bright, fresh noodles that retain their color are an important quality requirement for the Asian market. Low activity of Polyphenol Oxidase (PPO), an enzyme responsible for discoloration, and a light kernel color are important wheat quality characteristics needed for fresh Asian noodles. If hard white wheat cultivars developed for North Dakota are to be used in the Asian noodle markets, the cultivars need to have low levels of PPO activity.

Hard white wheat is more susceptible to sprouting in the head compared to red wheat. The NDSU breeding program is concentrating on developing varieties with a whiter seed coat and on incorporating pre-harvest sprout resistance. "Our white wheat research is also identifying specific end-use products within existing markets and determining the production practices needed to meet those end-use quality requirements," Berzonsky says.

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Source: Bill Berzonsky, (701) 231-8156, bill.berzonsky@ndsu.nodak.edu
Editor: Rich Mattern, (701) 231-6136, richard.mattern@ndsu.nodak.edu