Parametric modelling of wheat grain morphology: a new perspective

Abstract A parametric model of wheat grain morphology is proposed. It consists of simple mathematical equations describing the grain shape. A thorough comparison of the model equations with cross-, side- and longitudinal-sections of grains from ten different wheat varieties led to a proposal of two geometrical systems capable of describing wheat and durum. This model was built on the basis of simple geometrical data: the length, width, thickness and depth of the crease. It has many potential morphological applications, e.g. for calculation of geometrical characteristics like grain volume and surface are used to assess the theoretical yield of varieties. The calculated milling yield based on morphological characteristics thus allows a better estimation of the real milling yield of different varieties than the simple measurement of the mass to the hectolitre (kg/hl). It can also be advantageously used in applications with models requiring average grain shape, e.g. mechanical or granular simulations.