At a mill gate, a mandi or a warehouse, a wheat lot is judged on a handful of physical parameters. Knowing which ones matter, and which a photo can and cannot show, avoids most disputes.
Wheat quality at the point of purchase is mostly about physical condition: how much of the sample is sound grain, and how much is broken, shrivelled, damaged, other grain or foreign matter. Some parameters, such as moisture, need an instrument.
| Parameter | What it means | How it is usually checked |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign matter | Stones, straw, chaff and dust | Separated and weighed |
| Other foodgrains | Mustard, paddy, chana and other grains mixed in | Picked out and weighed |
| Damaged / discoloured | Weathered or blackened grain | Visual inspection |
| Shrivelled and broken | Thin, light grains and fragments | Sieving and visual inspection |
| Immature | Green-tinted grain | Visual inspection |
| Insect-damaged | Grains with bore-holes | Visual inspection |
| Moisture | Water content of the grain | Moisture meter |
| Grain size | Length and width of kernels | Sieves or measurement |
Government procurement uses the FCI Fair Average Quality (FAQ) specification; see FCI FAQ wheat specification explained. Mills and exporters often apply their own intake or contract spec on top.
GrainGrade turns one phone photo of a wheat sample into a grain count, sizes in millimetres, defect percentages and the FCI FAQ grade, with a range on every number instead of a bare decimal. The camera coaches the shot first (level, a scale marker in frame, focus and light) and refuses a bad photo with a reason in Hindi or English rather than analysing it into a wrong answer. Seven defect classes are checked, grading rules are data so a mill’s or exporter’s own spec can sit beside FCI FAQ, and every sample is saved to its lot with a shareable PDF or WhatsApp report. GrainGrade is in development: counting is built and measured; the other figures on the product page are design targets. Moisture is not visible to a camera and is entered from a meter reading.
At purchase: foreign matter, other foodgrains, damaged and slightly damaged grain, shrivelled and broken grain, immature and insect-damaged grain, grain size and moisture.
The visible parameters can: grain count, size and visible defects. Moisture, protein, gluten and hidden insects cannot, and need a meter or a lab.
With a grain moisture meter; it is not visible in a photograph.
See it on your own data. GrainGrade — Wheat graded from a photo. Book a 30-minute working session with an engineer.
