/ RAW MATERIALS / Barley / Physiological Tests

R-110.33.612 [2016-03] Germinative Energy in Barley – Germination Percentage and Germination Index

Germinative capacity

Germinative capacity is the most important characteristic of malting barley. It measures the percentage of viable kernels in a barley sample, independent of whether they are still dormant or not.

Germinative energy

Germinative energy measures the percentage of kernels in a barley sample, which would germinate under normal malting conditions at the time of the analysis.

A high value for germinative energy indicates that the barley is in good condition and therefore can be successfully malted.

Pre-germination (number of kernels exhibiting pre-germination)

Moist weather during the final maturation stage can cause germination to occur prematurely, while the barley is still in the field. The acrospire and rootlet develop, enzymes are produced and therefore extract is consumed (extract loss) and during the necessary drying process, germinative capacity is diminished. Floating tests and sectioning provide a certain amount of information with regard to pre-germination; however, staining methods allow the degree of hidden pre-germination to be determined. Additionally, the percentage of non-germinated and unmalted barley in malt can be established as well.

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barley

germinative energy

germination index

germination percentage

BRF

Application/Purpose

This method describes a method for determining the germinative energy in barley by triggering germination in Petri dishes under defined conditions. The germination percentage and germination index are determined with this method.

Scope of Application

Barley intended for the production of malt is evaluated on the basis of germinative capacity.

Principle

This method is used to determine the percentage of germination that will occur under normal malting conditions. The germination index provides a good indication of the germination capacity of a barley lot which is no longer dormant [1−3].

The method is based on the BRF/4 ml test with 4 × 100 kernels.