Physical-chemical characteristics of Triticum Aestivum wheat from three Romanian regions

The purpose of this paper was to determine the total protein content, gluten content, moisture, Zeleny sedimentation index, hectolitre mass and deformation index of T. aestivum wheat. The total protein content, gluten content, Zeleny sedimentation index and hectolitre mass was analyzed by the NIR, Infralum FT 10 cereal analyzer instruments. Humidity was determined by oven drying method and deformation index by thermostating. The samples were collected from three Romanian areas: West, South and Central. The highest total protein content was registered in wheat from South (13.5%), followed by wheat from West (13.2%), respectively from Centre (10.6%). The gluten content, in direct correlation with total protein content, was in the range 24% (wheat from Centre) - 30% (wheat from South). The deformation index of West and South samples was 5 mm, respectively 2mm of sample from Central. Wheat South Zeleny sedimentation index was 44 mL followed by West area wheat (49 mL) and wheat from Central (51 mL). The wheat samples hectolitre mass was very close, between 80.5-81.0 kg/hL. The humidity of the samples varied from 11.9% to 12.7%. The results recommend the wheat from South Romania area as being of high quality, followed by wheat from West Romania area. The wheat from Centre Romania area is of medium quality