Abstract
This paper presents some preliminary work assessing the potential for near-infrared-based metabolomics to provide an accurate test for detecting the early germination/pre-harvest sprouting of grains, particularly barley and wheat. Our results indicate that near-infrared spectroscopy is not only able to determine if the grain has germinated (or started germinating) or not germinated well before shoots appear but can also provide an indication of how long the germination process has been occurring for. Since near-infrared-based methods are already well established in the grain industry, this technique has the potential to form the basis of a simple, fast test that could be used on the farm as well as during storage and transport to detect early germination and allow segregation of sound and mildly sprouted grain; this could have significant economic benefits for the grain industry.
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