Grainswest - Tech 2024

Tech 2024 Grains West 10 THE FARMGATE UP TO HALF OF THE WORLD’S stored grains—1.6 billion tonnes—can be subject to spoilage every year. Such losses impair efforts to meet growth in global food demand. In response, two recent studies applied cutting-edge technology to better understand grain spoilage and seek solutions. Using extremely bright light, a project led by Digvir Jayas examined changes within wheat kernels to identify durum varieties that are less likely to spoil. He conducted the research while at the Uni- versity of Manitoba. “We have been working for the last four decades to understand why grains like wheat, barley and canola spoil at the macro level,” said Jayas. “We devel- oped systems to minimize spoilage, such as more efficient drying systems using horizontal air flow. If we gain a clearer picture of the changes that occur at a micro level during spoilage, we can use that information to develop varieties that spoil less easily.” In collaboration with Canadian Light Source (CLS), a national research facility at the University of Saskatchewan, scien- tists employed the facility’s synchrotron equipment, a particle accelerator that shines intense light on research subjects. “Our technology can be used to char- acterize any material chemically and structurally, on a nano scale,” said Chithra Karunakaran, interim science director at CLS. “Without even cutting a seed open, it lets us view the internal structures and makeup of a kernel.” Nutrients also play a role in the stora- bility of seeds, so researchers examined the macro- and micronutrients within the kernel. What happens to these nutri- ents when the seed is exposed to mois- ture? How does that moisture impact the structure of the seed? “When seeds are stored at a high tem- perature or with excess moisture content, we wanted to gauge how, in storage, fungus gets into the seed and damages it structurally and nutritionally,” said Karunakaran. Researchers study high-tech grain preservation University of Alberta researchers, including Ehsan Feizollahi, have experimented with plasma activated water to treat mycotoxin contamination caused by fungi in wheat and barley. Spoilagesolutions