Evaluation of wet-milling performance of commercial yellow maize hybrids grown in México and relations with grain physicochemical properties

Abstract

The use of commercial maize hybrids is a common practice worldwide because of improved yield potential and agronomic characteristics. However, there is very little information regarding their quality characteristics and industrial potential. In this study, 16 commercial yellow maize hybrids, cultivated in the same location, were evaluated for compositional, physical and wet-milling properties. Grain contents of protein (8.5–12.3%, db), crude fat (3.9–5.7%, db) and starch (69.0–72.8%, db) showed varietal differences that were also reflected in, amongst others, thousand-kernel weight (350–430 g), pericarp (4.5–7.7%, db), thickness (3.9–4.9 mm), flour Hunter b color value (28.0–44.6), and 48-h moisture saturation point (0.33–0.46 (g water absorbed/g sample)). The starch yield from the wet-milling varied from 45.0 to 69.5% (db), with a concomitant recovery (%, db) of 64.2–96.2. These properties were correlated and modeled to predict the starch yield that was highly significantly dependent (r² > 0.7; P < 0.001) on the protein content and kernel density, with the latter accounting for most of the variations. The results suggest that kernel density would be a good indicator of starch yield, and its evaluation could be useful in screening suitable maize hybrids for wet-milling.