In fact, an overall appreciation of all of these factors is required so that released varieties will continue to meet the needs of the market place. The following summarises the major wheat quality tests performed within South Australia together with the system used to classify wheats for marketing. A summary is presented of the various end products currently being produced from wheat with particular emphasis on protein requirements. Shrivelled grain is lighter as are grains affected by rain as water swells the grain making them less dense. Australian Wheat Board guideline for receival standards for cleanliness and grain soundness for a milling wheat is a minimum test weight of 74 kg per hectolitre.
High moisture affects storage properties such as the presence of moulds and insects.
Australia is fortunate compared with the European countries at having low grain moisture content at receivals. 1.3 Grain Hardness Particle size index or PSI is the test used to measure grain hardness in wheat. This is only one of a number of different techniques used for assessing kernel hardness, the simplest being biting the grain between the teeth. Hardness is a very important property in wheat quality testing and is a strongly inheritable characteristic. Hardness affects the manner in which the wheat is broken down into flour during the milling process and the subsequent behaviour of flours during their processing.