Mineral composition of small-grain cultivars from a uniform test plot in South Dakota

Seventy-five cultivated varieties (cultivars) of hard red spring wheat (HRS), hard red winter wheat (HRW), durum wheat, oats, and barley were harvested in 1974 from a small-grain trial plot in Harding County, SD, just north of Buffalo. Analysis of the grains reported here includes crude protein for only the wheat cultivars, ash yield, and 17 chemical elements, many of which are not commonly given in the literature (such as B, Cd, Mo, Ni, and Se). Differences in composition between the two classes of hard red wheat indicate that HRS is significantly higher (p < 0.05) than HRW in protein content, ash yield, Ca, K, Mg, Na, P, total S, Sr, and Zn; Cd is significantly higher in the HRW cultivars. For the most part, concentrations were quite uniform within all grain types. Only two cultivars were anomalous: cv. Hi Plains in HRW wheats and cv. Astro in the oat group.