Ensuring the availability of bread-making quality wheat in Europe

The combination of carbohydrates and proteins gives wheat its unique properties for making breads of different kinds of tastes. Millers are highly trained and use their knowledge and skill to assess and blend different wheat varieties to produce flour to the exact specification required by each customer and which best suits the end purpose for foodstuffs.

Increasing the bread-making quality of wheat

Achieving the required quality targets for wheat can greatly affect the value of the harvested crop. Often the quality targets depend on the end user’s required specification (e.g. livestock feed, milling for bread or biscuit flour or even grain distilling). The main traits to consider are grain protein, specific weight, Hagberg falling number and starch content.

Macronutrients impact on grain quality

Crop nutrition can have a great impact on the quality of the harvested grain and fertiliser applications should be planned to achieve the required quality targets. To achieve the highest value for the grain the grower often has to meet a combination of specifications. Nitrogen and potassium are the most influential of the macronutrients on grain quality. Nitrogen is important for protein or starch content whilst potassium maintains the crop structure to prevent lodging that reduces Hagberg falling numbers and specific weight.

Micronutrients role in influencing grain quality

The secondary nutrients sulphur and magnesium influence grain protein and specific weight respectively, whilst the micronutrient zinc also helps nitrogen metabolism that improves grain protein concentrations.

Addressing the availability of fertilisers in Europe to ensure food security

Fertilisers play a significant role for food security. Their production and their cost largely depend on natural gas. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a global mineral fertiliser and energy crisis is now weighing on global food security and food prices. In this context, the European Commission presented a Communication on ensuring availability and affordability of fertilisers.