Work

The influence of systematic heat and drought applications at defined growth stages on malting barley starch properties

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND Starch gelatinization behavior and the proportion of B‐granules are crucial for malt quality as a result of their impact on starch degradation during malt‐based beverage production. Starch structure and resulting starch properties are determined by the starch synthesis during barley plant growth, which is influenced by barley genetics and environmental growing conditions. Because climate change is altering growing conditions increasingly, insights into the relationship between growth conditions, genetics and relevant starch properties are of upcoming importance. Thus, as a factorial experiment, three malting barley varieties (Morex, Scarlett and Avalon) were grown in highly controlled climate chambers with systematic variations in heat and drought conditions to investigate the influence of (i) pre‐anthesis growth temperature [growth stage (GS) < 61]; (ii) temperature from GS 61–75 and from GS 75–93; (iii) malting barley variety; (iv) drought stress; and (v) interactions between those factors on resulting gelatinization behavior (using differential scanning calorimetry) and the B‐granule proportion (detected by laser diffraction). RESULTS (Stepwise) multiple linear regression calculations (MLR/SMLR) revealed that (i) pre‐anthesis growth temperature significantly affected gelatinization behavior (onset, To; endset, TE; enthalpy, ΔH) but not B‐granule proportion; (ii) starch properties were not significantly and variety‐independently different after heat stress from GS 61–75 or heat stress from GS 75–93; and (iii) additional drought stress did not significantly change To and TE values per se, but significantly affected ΔH and B‐granule proportion values. CONCLUSION Growth conditions before GS 55 significantly impact starch gelatinization behavior, indicating that starch synthesis is highly affected by conditions before anthesis. © 2025 The Author(s). Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Source: Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture

DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.14183

Authors: Veronika Franz, Stefan Hör, Hannes Petermeier, Christoph Neugrodda, Thomas Becker, Martina Gastl

Institution: Technical University of Munich

Language: English

Topic: Food composition and properties

Subfield: Nutrition and Dietetics

Field: Nursing

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Zero hunger

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,620