Cereals processing technology

Cereal production methods 9
autumn the area sown to wheat would be lower than in a dry autumn, although
other factors, such as the need to control weeds and soil-borne diseases, also had
an impact.
With Britain’s entry into the EEC the profitability of wheat increased
significantly compared to that of barley with the result that the area of barley
began to decline and that of wheat increase. In the early 1980s wheat became the
dominant UK cereal. Higher wheat prices, although important, was only one of
several factors responsible for the increasing popularity of wheat. The
introduction of high yielding winter varieties, the adoption of effective
fungicide and herbicide programmes, and the availability of plant growth
regulators all combined to achieve high yields and satisfactory financial returns.
Improved grain quality and a better appreciation of market requirements also
made a significant contribution.
2.1.2 Cereal yields
Cereal yields changed very little during the first half of the twentieth century,
but have more than trebled since. There are a number of factors which have
contributed to this trend. The rediscovery of Mendel’s work provided the
scientific basis on which cereal breeding could develop, first within the public
sector and more recently by private companies which have now combined into
multinational conglomerates. Legislation at national and European levels
enabled plant breeding companies to recover their costs in the form of royalties
which enabled further advances to be made in developing high yielding cereal
varieties with improved quality characteristics. Future developments in cereal
breeding will become increasingly dependent on advances in biotechnology and
the willingness of the public to accept genetic modification into the food chain.
Austin (1978) calculated the potential yield of winter wheat to be in the
region of 13 t/ha. Some high yielding crops have achieved this level of
performance, but of more significance has been the constant upward trend in the
national average yield (Fig. 2.2).
Although all cereals have benefited greatly from these advances in plant
breeding, winter wheat yields have improved to a greater extent than those of
oats and barley. During the period 1947 to 1978, Silvey (1981) estimated that the
improvement in the national average yields of wheat, barley and oats was of the
order of 105%, 76% and 87% respectively. The contribution made by the
adoption of new varieties was considered to account for approximately 50% of
this improvement.
New varieties undergo extensive field trials to ascertain their field
performance and quality characteristics prior to their wide scale commercial
adoption. Cereal producers must purchase certified seed or use seed that has
been saved from the previous year’s crop from their own farm as ‘home saved
seed’. This ensures high seed quality with good germination capacity, absence of
impurities and free from seed borne diseases. Thus advances in plant breeding
are rapidly transmitted into farming practice.