How is the quality of summer-harvested wheat? The National Food Administration releases the 2016 survey report

The National Food Administration recently released a survey report on the quality of summer-harvested wheat. The report points out that the overall quality of wheat harvested in 9 provinces is noticeably lower than last year, with test weight and the proportion of wheat at Grade 3 or above declining somewhat, and the problem of unsound kernels exceeding the standard being fairly prominent. Except for Shanxi Province, wheat in every province had unsound kernels exceeding the standard. Among them, because wheat in the Huang-Huai region was generally affected by special weather such as rainfall during the grain-filling and harvest periods, the 4 provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan and Hubei had relatively serious cases of unsound kernels exceeding the standard. The report is as follows:

In order to promptly grasp the quality status of summer-harvested wheat in 2016, the National Food Administration continued to organize major wheat-producing provinces to carry out centralized joint inspection of wheat quality. The samples collected were all village-level composite samples, with sample quantities allocated according to output weight, and the joint inspection items were mainly routine quality indicators. As of July 18, the centralized joint inspection work had been completed in 9 major summer-harvested wheat-producing provinces, namely Hebei, Shanxi, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Sichuan and Shaanxi. A total of 1,885 samples of newly harvested wheat were collected, involving 417 main producing counties (districts) in 91 cities, and 27,000 pieces of inspection data were obtained.

I. Overall situation of the 2016 wheat quality joint inspection in 9 provinces

Judging from the test data, the overall quality of wheat harvested in the 9 provinces is noticeably lower than last year. Test weight and the proportion of wheat at Grade 3 or above have declined somewhat, and the problem of unsound kernels exceeding the standard is fairly prominent. Except for Shanxi Province, wheat in every province had unsound kernels exceeding the standard. Among them, because wheat in the Huang-Huai region was generally affected by special weather such as rainfall during the grain-filling and harvest periods, the 4 provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan and Hubei had relatively serious cases of unsound kernels exceeding the standard.

The inspection results for all samples from the 9 provinces are as follows: average test weight 783 g/L, down 6 g/L from last year, with a range of 627-850 g/L. The proportions of Grade 1 to Grade 5 were 46.3%, 29.1%, 14.9%, 5.7% and 2.6% respectively, with off-grade wheat accounting for 1.4%; wheat at Grade 3 (medium) or above accounted for 90.3%, down 4.7% from last year. Average thousand-kernel weight 42.9 g, unchanged from last year, with a range of 28.0 g-58.0 g. Average hardness index 62.8, down 1.0 from last year, with a range of 35.6-78.8. Average unsound kernel content 7.1%, up 1.6% from last year; among them, the proportion meeting the national standard requirement (≤10%) was 81.0%, down 7.5% from last year, 10%-20% was 13.1%, and above 20% was 5.9%. Average falling number 311 seconds, down 37 seconds from last year, with a range of 65 seconds-538 seconds.

II. Detailed situation of the wheat quality joint inspection by province

(1) Hebei

A total of 245 samples were collected, involving 66 counties (districts) in 6 cities. The overall quality was at a relatively good level in recent years. Average test weight 797 g/L, with a range of 728-836 g/L; the proportions of Grade 1 to Grade 5 were 70.6%, 19.2%, 6.1%, 3.7% and 0.4% respectively, with no off-grade wheat, and wheat at Grade 3 or above accounted for 95.9%, maintaining last year's level. Average thousand-kernel weight 42.8 g, with a range of 32.8 g-52.8 g, slightly higher than last year. Average hardness index 65.4, with a range of 51.0-71.0. Average unsound kernel content 4.1%, with a range of 0.8-37.0%; among them, the proportion with an unsound kernel rate within 10% was 93.5%, 10%-20% was 5.7%, and above 20% was 0.8%. Average falling number 340 seconds, with a range of 98 seconds-538 seconds, down 26 seconds from last year.

(2) Shanxi

A total of 42 samples were collected, involving 19 counties (districts) in 7 cities. The overall quality was at a relatively good level in recent years. Average test weight 794 g/L, with a range of 762-833 g/L, the highest in recent years; the proportions of Grade 1 to Grade 3 were 61.9%, 28.6% and 9.5% respectively, with no Grade 4, Grade 5 or off-grade wheat; wheat at Grade 3 or above accounted for 100%, and the proportion of Grade 1 increased somewhat compared with a normal year. Average thousand-kernel weight 41.5 g, with a range of 34.4 g-47.7 g, up 2.4 g from last year. Average hardness index 66.0, with a range of 60.0-69.0. Average unsound kernel content 3.5%, with a range of 0.8-9.1%, and the unsound kernel rate of all samples was within 10%; average falling number 303 seconds, with a range of 201 seconds-369 seconds, down 40 seconds from last year.

(3) Jiangsu

A total of 115 samples were collected, involving 42 counties (districts) in 13 cities. The proportion of wheat at medium grade or above and the thousand-kernel weight were lower than last year, and the unsound kernel content increased noticeably compared with a normal year. Average test weight 780 g/L, with a range of 627-837 g/L; the proportions of Grade 1 to Grade 5 were 40.9%, 33.0%, 16.6%, 4.3% and 2.6% respectively, with off-grade wheat at 2.6%, and wheat at Grade 3 or above accounting for 90.4%. Average thousand-kernel weight 37.0 g, with a range of 28.0 g-48.2 g, down 4.5 g from last year. Average hardness index 59.5, with a range of 41.8-78.8. Average unsound kernel content 10.2%, with a range of 0.6-68.1%; among them, the proportion with an unsound kernel rate within 10% was 69.5%, 10%-20% was 20.9%, and above 20% was 9.6%. The serious cases of unsound kernel content exceeding the standard were mainly in areas such as Nantong, Wuxi and Huai'an.

(4) Anhui

A total of 235 samples were collected, involving 25 counties (districts) in 8 cities. Average test weight 757 g/L, with a range of 662-831 g/L, down 20 g/L from last year; the proportions of Grade 1 to Grade 5 were 14.0%, 26.4%, 31.1%, 13.6% and 10.2% respectively, with off-grade wheat at 4.7%; wheat at Grade 3 or above accounted for 71.5%, down 17.7% from last year. Average thousand-kernel weight 41.8 g, with a range of 29.5 g-51.7 g. Average hardness index 63.2, with a range of 44.0-77.4. Average unsound kernel content 12.6%, with a range of 1.1-67.5%, a noticeable increase compared with a normal year; among them, the proportion with an unsound kernel rate within 10% was 51.0%, 10%-20% was 36.2%, and above 20% was 12.8%. Affected by successive rainy weather during the harvest period, wheat in areas such as Bengbu, Chuzhou, Bozhou, Lu'an, Huainan, Fuyang and Suzhou had relatively serious cases of unsound kernel content exceeding the standard. Average falling number was only 195 seconds, with a range of 67 seconds-373 seconds.

(5) Shandong

A total of 410 samples were collected, involving 78 counties (districts) in 16 cities, and the overall quality was relatively good. Average test weight 797 g/L, with a range of 732-850 g/L, the highest in recent years; the proportions of Grade 1 to Grade 4 were 66.6%, 24.6%, 5.9% and 2.9% respectively, with no Grade 5 or off-grade wheat; wheat at Grade 3 or above accounted for 97.1%, comparable to a normal year. Average thousand-kernel weight 41.6 g, with a range of 31.8-50.4. Average hardness index 64.0, with a range of 44.0-72.0. Average unsound kernel content 2.7%, with a range of 0.2-16.3%, close to last year; among them, the proportion with an unsound kernel rate within 10% was 98.8%, and 10%-20% was 1.2%. Average falling number 363 seconds, with a range of 214 seconds-428 seconds, down 28 seconds from last year.

(6) Henan

A total of 610 samples were collected, involving 105 counties (districts) in 18 cities. The average test weight and the proportion at medium grade or above were lower than last year, and unsound kernels were higher than in a normal year. Average test weight 782 g/L, with a range of 680-828 g/L; the proportions of Grade 1 to Grade 5 were 40.3%, 37.4%, 15.9%, 4.4% and 1.3% respectively, with off-grade at 0.7%; wheat at Grade 3 or above accounted for 93.6%. Average thousand-kernel weight 44.8 g, with a range of 31.1-56.9. Average hardness index 62.2, with a range of 37.7-74.1. Average unsound kernel content 8.6%, with a range of 0.4-74.7%, noticeably higher than in a normal year; among them, the proportion with an unsound kernel rate within 10% was 76.1%, 10%-20% was 14.9%, and above 20% was 9.0%. Affected by rainy weather during the harvest period, wheat in areas such as Jiaozuo, Xinyang, Jiyuan, Hebi, Luohe and Zhoukou had unsound kernel content exceeding the standard. Average falling number 321 seconds, with a range of 92 seconds-471 seconds, down 14 seconds from last year.

(7) Hubei

A total of 66 samples were collected, involving 21 counties (districts) in 8 cities. The average test weight and the proportion at medium grade or above increased somewhat compared with last year, and the unsound kernel content increased compared with a normal year. Average test weight 781 g/L, with a range of 682-813 g/L, up 12 g/L from last year; the proportions of Grade 1 to Grade 5 were 40.9%, 40.9%, 12.1%, 1.6% and 3.0% respectively, with off-grade at 1.5%; wheat at Grade 3 or above accounted for 93.9%, up 13.6% from last year, and Grade 1 wheat increased noticeably compared with last year. Average thousand-kernel weight 43.7 g, with a range of 36.4 g-52.6 g, comparable to a normal year. Average hardness index 66.0, with a range of 35.6-74.1. Average unsound kernel content 5.0%, with a range of 0.8-21.7%, higher than in a normal year; among them, the proportion with an unsound kernel rate within 10% was 87.9%, 10%-20% was 10.6%, and above 20% was 1.5%. Affected by rainy weather during the harvest period, unsound kernels increased sharply in some areas, and cities such as Jingzhou, Xiantao and Xiaogan had a very high proportion with unsound kernel content exceeding 10%.

(8) Sichuan

A total of 85 samples were collected, involving 33 counties (districts) in 10 cities. The average test weight and the proportion at medium grade or above both declined compared with last year, and the overall quality was noticeably lower than last year. Average test weight 749 g/L, with a range of 664-806 g/L, down 29 g/L from last year; the proportions of Grade 1 to Grade 5 were 8.2%, 12.9%, 36.5%, 20.0% and 13.0% respectively, with off-grade wheat at 9.4%; wheat at Grade 3 or above accounted for 57.6%, down 37.7% from last year. Average thousand-kernel weight 44.5 g, with a range of 31.5 g-58.0 g. Average hardness index 51.1, with a range of 38.1-73.3. Average unsound kernel content 6.9%, with a range of 0.8-30.1%; among them, the proportion with an unsound kernel rate within 10% was 83.5%, 10%-20% was 13.0%, and above 20% was 3.5%. Affected by rainy weather during the harvest period, unsound kernels increased sharply in some areas, and cities such as Nanchong, Suining and Dazhou had unsound kernel content exceeding 10%.

(9) Shaanxi

A total of 77 samples were collected, involving 28 counties (districts) in 5 cities. The overall quality was lower than last year. Average test weight 786 g/L, with a range of 734-828 g/L, comparable to a normal year; the proportions of Grade 1 to Grade 4 were 51.9%, 29.9%, 13.0% and 5.2% respectively, with no Grade 5 or off-grade wheat; wheat at Grade 3 or above accounted for 94.8%, down 3.9% from last year. Average thousand-kernel weight 44.9 g, with a range of 28.8 g-56.5 g, slightly higher than last year. Average hardness index 65.7, with a range of 50.2-72.3. Average unsound kernel content 10.2%, with a range of 1.6-60.0%, up 4.7% from last year; among them, the proportion with an unsound kernel rate within 10% was 74.0%, 10%-20% was 13.0%, and above 20% was 13.0%. Average falling number 227 seconds, with a range of 77 seconds-365 seconds, down 44 seconds from last year.