University News for March 10, 2010

A University of Manitoba study which looked at the effect of storage on red lentil quality will help Canadian red lentil growers preserve the value of their crops.

Research conducted by the University of Manitoba's Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, which examined the effect of storage on red lentils, has shown storage conditions, time in storage and varietal selection will influence both dehulling efficiency and cooking quality.

Scientists compared dehulling efficiency, dehulling loss and texture after cooking of Impact, Redberry and Robin stored under a range of conditions.

Biosystems engineering professor Dr. Stefan Cenkowski says existing standards for quality evaluation of red lentils are based on green lentils and are not acceptable for red lentils.

Clip-Dr. Stefan Cenkowski-University of Manitoba:
The problem that Canadian red lentil producers face is that the western Canadian climate is very different from other lentil producing and importing countries.

Mainly I'm thinking about Asia and the Middle east.

Consequently when lentils are exported to regions with entirely different climatic conditions they likely undergo biochemical changes which may result in lower quality of lentil.

Considering the benefits of increasing red lentil production in Canada there's a need to create a knowledge base on the effects of storage conditions and storage time on quality of red lentils.

Nearly 90 percent of red lentils produced are consumed as dehulled split or dehulled whole seeds.

The results from our research should help in improving post harvest handling systems for red lentils and maintain the market and processing quality of Canadian red lentils when lentils are exported to countries with different climatic conditions.

Dr. Cenkowski says the quality of red lentils correlate directly to price and the difference in the value of a number one or a number two red lentil can be substantial.

He says researchers are in the process of completing a final report which is expected to be available later this month.

For UniversityNews.Org, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

*University News is a presentation of the University of Manitoba's Faculty of Agricultural & Food Sciences