Some effects of gamma‐irradiation on barley and its malting properties

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Abstract
Irradiation of barley above and below disinfestation levels (16,000 rads) was carried out to study the effects of irradiation and post‐irradiation storage on malting properties.Maltose figures and free β‐amylase of raw barley increased at low irradiation levels. Respiration rate and rootlet production decreased slightly with increasing irradiation, while malts produced from barley irradiated below 100,000 rads showed little change in α‐ and β‐amylase and in proteinase activities. The effects on micro‐ and pilot‐scale malted barley were sometimes in sharp contrast.Growth of barley seedlings demonstrated that unevenness caused by irradiation was more marked in the plumules than in the roots. Plant height, but not root length, showed the ‘reversal effect’.Standard analyses of pilot‐scale malts indicated a slight degree of undermodification after irradiation. Technological implications of the irradiation process for disinfestation are discussed.