Cultivation and milling of wheat

Abstract Wheat together with rice is the predominant food crop worldwide. More than 100 countries produce around 700,000 tons of wheat grain each year. About 95% of harvested wheat is common wheat and most of the remaining 5% is durum wheat. Successful farming includes the selection of suitable varieties, planting areas, and good timing. Each stage of development requires specific applications of fertilizers, pesticides, and growth regulators. Organic farming is an alternative agricultural system with the aim to reduce environmental impact, deliver greater ecosystem services and social benefits. Harvested grains must be stored dry and safe, so that they retain their end-use properties. Today, large grain storage bins are widely common. To transform grains into products that can be easily processed, milling is traditionally the most applied technology. Prior to milling, several mostly automatized cleaning steps are necessary. Modern milling utilizes metal roller mills that combine roller systems for grinding the grains and sifters and purifiers for separating the flour fractions. Major fractions are white flour (starchy endosperm), bran (outer layers), and germ. Whole grain flours are defined as flours that contain all parts of the grain.