ABSTRACT
The Fourth International Symposium on Pre-Harvest Sprouting in Cereals is being held at a time when major wheat exporting countries have experienced adverse weather conditions at harvest. The major class of Australian wheat, Australian Standard White has a nil tolerance to visibly sprouted grain. The way in which sprouted wheat has been treated in the Australian classification system and the way it has been treated in the 'financial' sense has changed. With the advent of increased segregations a more appropriate level of dockage for sprouted wheat could be introduced by the Australian Wheat Board. Research into the potential uses of mildly sprouted wheat for overseas markets is being conducted at the Bread Research Institute of Australia. In a period when the Australian wheatgrower faces difficult economic times, as is the case presently, the economic impact of pre-harvest sprouting on individual growers is most severe.
