Increasing U.S. Hard Red Winter Wheat Competitiveness in Latin American Markets

The United States wheat sector leadership in world markets is facing serious challenges. Canada, Australia, Argentina, the European Union (EU), and the Former Soviet Union (FSU) are growing contenders for international wheat markets. Wheat buyers´ concerns about quality specifications and its consistency have intensified without precedents in the last years. The study focuses on identifying the attributes that wheat buyers most value at the moment of purchase. The study will be done in two stages. The first stage will focus in estimating preferences from actual wheat transactions from different grain-sheds in the HRW growing area. The second stage will focus on the demand from Latin American millers and will estimate their attribute preference and elicit willingness to pay. The second stage will start with Mexican millers, given their importance for the HRW exports. A hedonic price model will be used for the first stage. The second part of the study will attempt to elicit miller´s preferences by using a self explicated approach. Expected results are that the "easy-to-measure attributes": test weight, and protein levels; and all functionality characteristics such as bake absorption, farinograph peak time, farinograph stability, alveograph p/l ratio will be the most valued by the wheat customers. We hypothesize that millers will be willing to pay a premium if those attributes are present in desirable levels. The information should provide insight into the efforts being made by wheat marketing agencies and the U.S. Wheat Associates to promote quality-based marketing of wheat to domestic and foreign millers. Discussion may also include the impacts of quality-based marketing on U.S. share of the world wheat market.International Relations/Trade,

Durum wheat grain yield and quality as affected by S rate under Mediterranean conditions

The decreased inputs of S from atmospheric acidic deposition, the use of low S-containing fertilisers, and the decrease of organic matter content in soil resulted in S deficiency in many agricultural regions of the world. Sulphur fertilisation significantly affects grain yield and protein composition of cereals, thus altering the technological quality of grain. Field experiments were conducted in central Italy in two subsequent seasons to investigate the effects ofNand S application on five commercial wheat cultivarsknownto differ in yield potential and grain N content. Fertiliser treatments were two levels of N fertiliser (120 kgNha−1 and 180 kgNha−1) and three levels of S fertiliser (not applied, 60 kg S ha−1, and 120 kg S ha−1). Analyzed characters were dry weight and N and S uptake of grain and vegetative plant part, and grain quality characters. Variations in weather pattern – and especially in rainfall – between years significantly influenced grain yield and N and S content of grain, but did not affect quality parameters. Nitrogen and S application also significantly affected grain yield and the quality characteristicsW, P/L, dry gluten and SDS, although no interactive effect between treatments was observed. The highest protein content and W in grain was obtained with the combination of the highest fertiliser rates: 180 kgNha−1 and 120 kg S ha−1. Genotypes differed for yield stability between years, in that grain production was decreased in the driest year only in the varieties Claudio and Creso, but they responded similarly to N and S fertilisation. Genotypes differed also for protein concentration and quality parameters, and, on average, the varieties Duilio, Simeto and Svevo gave better performances. Differences in grain quality parameters were maintained through years, indicating that these traits are under strong genetic control

Yield and Quality in Purple-Grained Wheat Isogenic Lines

Breeding programs for purple wheat are underway in many countries but there is a lack of information on the effects of Pp (purple pericarp) genes on agronomic and quality traits in variable environments and along the product chain (grain-flour-bread). This study was based on unique material: two pairs of isogenic lines in a spring wheat cv. Saratovskaya-29 (S29) background differing only in Pp genes and grain color. In 2017, seven experiments were conducted in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkey with a focus on genotype and environment interaction and, in 2018, one experiment in Turkey with a focus on grain, flour, and bread quality. The eect of environment was greater compared to genotype for the productivity and quality traits studied. Nevertheless, several important traits, such as grain color and anthocyanin content, are closely controlled by genotype, offering the opportunity for selection. Phenolic content in purple-grained lines was not significantly higher in whole wheat flour than in red-colored lines. However, this trait was significantly higher in bread. For antioxidant activities, no differences between the genotypes were detected in both experiments. Comparison of two sources of Pp genes demonstrated that the lines originating from cv. Purple Feed had substantially improved productivity and quality traits compared to those from cv. Purple

Improvement of gums in physicochemical and rheological properties of barley-fortified saltine cracker dough

Effects of hydrocolloids (arabic gum, guar gum, and xanthan gum) on the physicochemical and rheological properties of whole-barley fortified cracker flour were determined using solvent retention capacity, alveograph, and Mixolab profiles. Results showed that the water absorption of whole-barley fortified cracker flour was reduced by the additional arabic gum. Besides, arabic gum was more effective in reducing the resistance to inflation and improving the extensibility of whole-barley fortified dough. Mixolab parameters indicated that the weakening of gluten proteins and the rate of starch retrogradation in whole-barley fortified cracker dough were reduced by the presence of arabic gum. Guar gum and xanthan gum promoted the rate of protein breakdown, but slowed down the starch gelatinization and retrogradation rate during the Mixolab heating-cooling cycle. In conclusion, involved arabic gum rather than guar gum or xanthan gum is benefit to improve the baking quality of wholebarley fortified saltine crackers

Stacking HMW-GS transgenes in bread wheat: Combining subunit 1Dy10 gives improved mixing properties and dough functionality

We have determined the technological properties of four lines containing combinations of three HMW-GS transgenes, encoding HMW-GS 1Ax1, 1Dx5 and 1Dy10. These lines were produced by conventional crossing of three single transgenic lines of the bread wheat cultivar Anza that contains the endogenous HMW-GS pairs 1Dx2 + 1Dy12 and 1Bx7* + 1By8 and is null for the Glu-A1 locus. Consequently, the total number of HMW-GS ranged from 4 in the control line Anza to 7 in line T618 which contains all three HMW-GS transgenes. The lines were studied over two years using a range of widely used grain and dough testing methods. All lines with transgenic subunits showed higher levels of glutenin proteins than the Anza control, and these differences were highly significant for lines T616, T617 and T618, containing, respectively, the transgenes encoding HMW-GS 1Ax1 and 1Dy10, 1Dx5 and 1Dy10 and 1Ax1, 1Dx5 and 1Dy10. These increases in glutenin levels are compensated by lower levels of gliadins present in transgenic lines. These changes affected the ratio of polymeric to monomeric gluten proteins (poly:mono), the ratio of HMW-GS to LMW-GS (HMW:LMW) and the contents of individual 1Ax, 1Bx, 1By, 1Dx and 1Dy subunits. Transgenic lines expressing subunit 1Dy10 together with x-type subunits (T616, T617 and T618) were superior to line T606, which had only increases in x-type subunits. In particular, the combination of transgenic subunits 1Dx5 and 1Dy10 (line T617) gave better dough rheological properties than the other combinations of transgenic subunits. For example, dough development time and stability were increased by 3.5-fold and 8.5-fold, respectively, while the mixing tolerance index (MTI) was decreased by 3.3-fold in line T617 with respect to the control line. Alveograph analyses showed that all four transgenic combinations had increased P values compared to the Anza control but subunit 1Dx5 greatly reduced the extensibility (L). These results show that stacking HMW-GS transgenes by conventional crossing is a valid strategy for the improvement of wheat quality, with different effects being related to the different HMW-GS combination

Effects of Allelic Variation in Glutenin Subunits and Gliadins on Baking-Quality in Near-isogenic Lines of Common Wheat cv. Longmai 19

Two lines, L-19-613 and L-19-626, were produced from the common wheat cultivar Longmai 19 (L-19) by six consecutive backcrosses using biochemical marker-assisted selection. L-19 (Glu-D1a, Glu-A3c/Gli-A1?; Gli-A1? is a gene coding for unnamed gliadin) and L-19-613 (Glu-D1d, Glu-A3c/Gli-A1?) formed a set of near-isogenic lines (NILs) for HMW-GS, while L-19-613 and L-19-626 (Glu-D1d, Glu-A3e/Gli-A1m) constituted another set of NILs for the LMW-GS/gliadins. The three L-19 NILs were grown in the wheat breeding nursery in 2007 and 2008. The field experiments were designed using the three-column contrast arrangement method with four replicates. The three lines were ranked as follows for measurements of gluten strength, which was determined by the gluten index, Zeleny sedimentation, the stability and breakdown time of the farinogram, the maximum resistance and area of the extensogram, and the P andWvalues of the alveogram: L-19-613 > L-19-626 > L-19. The parameters listed above were significantly different between lines at the 0.05 or 0.01 level. The Glu-D1 and Glu-A3/Gli-A1 loci had additive effects on the gluten index, Zeleny sedimentation, stability, breakdown time, maximum resistance, area, P and W values. Although genetic variation at the Glu-A3/Gli-A1 locus had a great influence on wheat quality, the genetic difference between Glu-D1d and Glu-D1a at the Glu-D1 locus was much larger than that of Glu-A3c/Gli-A1? and Glu-A3e/Gli-A1m at the Glu-A3/Gli-A1 locus. Glu-D1d had negative effects on the extensibility and the L value compared with Glu-D1a. In contrast, Glu-A3c/Gli-A1? had a positive effect on these traits compared with Glu-A3e/Gli-A1m

Mapping quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with dough quality in a soft × hard bread wheat progeny

Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) quality is a key trait for baking industry exigencies and broad consumer preferences. The main goal of this study was to undertake quantitative trait loci (QTL) analyses for bread wheat quality in a set of 79 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a soft × hard bread wheat cross. Field trials were conducted over two years, utilizing a randomized complete block design. Dough quality was evaluated by sedimentation test, mixograph and alveograph analysis. Protein content was measured by near-infrared reflectance analysis and grain hardness was determined by the single kernel characterization system (SKCS). A genetic map based on 263 SSR markers and glutenin loci was constructed. Composite interval mapping (CIM) analysis detected a total of 20 QTLs distributed among ten chromosomes which were associated with variations in quality traits. Results confirmed the previous investigations on the known relationship between storage-protein alleles and dough quality, and detected new and stable QTLs related to dough quality parameters on chromosomes 2A, 7A, 5B and 1D. These new QTLs could be further investigated. Also, in this study, some RILs showed very high dough extensibility values which involve future validation studies for QTLs associated with to this trait

Characterization of common wheat flours (Triticum aestivum L.) through multivariate analysis of conventional rheological parameters and gluten peak test indices

The GlutoPeak consists in high speed mixing of a small amount of wheat flour (<10 g) added with water, and in registering a torque vs. time curve in a very short time (<10 min). Peak torque, peak maximum time, and energy values are calculated from the curve, and used to estimate the aggregation behavior of gluten. The information brought by the GlutoPeak indices is still difficult to interpret correctly, also in relation to the conventional approaches in the field of cereal science. A multivariate approach was used to investigate the correlations existing between the GlutoPeak indices and the conventional rheological parameters. 120 wheat flours- different for protein, dough stability, extensibility, tenacity, and strength, and end-uses - were analyzed using the GlutoPeak and conventional instrumentation. The parameters were subjected to a data exploration step through Principal Component Analysis. Then, multivariate Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) models were developed using the GlutoPeak indices to predict the conventional parameters. The values of the squared correlation coefficients in prediction of an external test set showed that acceptable to good results (0.61 64 R2PRED 64 0.96) were obtained for the prediction of 18 out of the 26 conventional parameters here considered