Effect of growing season on quality parameters of old and new wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyse genotypic variations of some important wheat quality parameters (protein content – PC, sedimentation value – SD, wet gluten content – WG and dry gluten content – DG) during two growing seasons (2010 and 2011). The trial was conducted at the experimental field of the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Novi Sad, with 25 wheat varieties registered and cultivated in Serbia for the last 60 years. PC, SD and WG were determined by Kjeldahl method, Zeleny sedimentation test and manual method, respectively. Strong year and genotype effects were found for all the quality traits of the studied varieties, while the effect of their interaction was not significant. The protein content of the wheat varieties ranged between 11.2% - 17.8%, with wet and dry gluten contents of 21.2 – 47.9% and 7 – 16%, respectively. Sedimentation value varied from 14 (cv. San Pastore) to 58 ml (cv. Pesma). Total protein content was positively correlated with the wet and dry gluten contents. Also, the correlation analyses have shown that older wheat varieties had higher protein content, as well as wet and dry gluten contents, but lower sedimentation values then modern cultivars. However, it should be noted that significant genotypic variations were found for all the analysed traits and varieties with good quality parameters could be identified among old and new cultivars.