RELATIONSHIP AMONG SOME PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SORGHUM (SORGHUM-VULGARE) VARIETIES AND THEIR POPPING CAPACITY

The purpose of this study was to attempt to establish a possible relat ionship between the physical characteristics of grain sorghum and its capacity to expand. Eleven national varieties of sorghum were studied and were characterized for color, weight of 100 grains, number of grai ns in 40 grams, grain density and texture. Before subjecting the sampl es to the pop-ping process, the method was standarized with respect to the experimental load. These tests helped to select a 62-gram load. L ikewise, the effect of grain moisture content was studied. Results ind icated that a soaking time of 45 minutes gave the best percent expansi on. Highly statistical significant differences were found in the physi cal characteristics among the eleven sorghum varieties, as was also th e case with respect to change in volume, popped grains and percentage of popped grains, which varied between 7.42 to 89.29%. The initial vol ume of the grain was negatively associated to the percentage of expand ed grains. The initial grain volume was significantly negatively relat ed to the nonpopped grain. The final volume significantly correlated w ith the number of grain in 40 grams, with endosperm texture and grain density. Even though physical structure is important in grain expansio n, other factors like chemical composition may also be of significance .