Abstract
High protein content and a ‘strong’ gluten are required in durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var. durum) to process semolina into a suitable final pasta product. The variation in grain protein content and quality realized through breeding and the concomitant variation in biomass production and partitioning have been analyzed by comparing in a 2-year field trial, four groups of cultivars released in different eras and areas of breeding. Three groups of cultivars represented the evolution of the Italian germplasm from the first landraces and genealogical selections (Group 1) to the cultivars constituted by crossing Mediterranean types with Syriacum types (Group 2), and the modern dwarf and semi-dwarf cultivars (Group 3). Group 4 was an ICARDA collection of breeding lines bred for adaptation to high altitudes. The measured traits included both biomass production and its partitioning to the grain, and total nitrogen uptake and its partitioning to the grain. Grain protein percentage, gluten content and gluten index were utilized as quality traits. Breeding resulted in an increased earliness, reduced height without significant decreases in total biomass, and improved partitioning. The concomitant total nitrogen uptake did not change, whereas the changed biomass partitioning caused a parallel change in nitrogen partitioning, with an increase in nitrogen harvest index from 0.41 to 0.59. The lower protein percentage in the grains of modern cultivars was therefore not due to a reduced nitrogen uptake, nor to a lower NHI or to less milligram of nitrogen per grain, but to the dilution effect caused by the heavier grains of modern cultivars. A notable increase in gluten index was observed in the modern cultivars, reflecting an improvement in the pasta-making quality of grain proteins.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abdalla, O., J.A. Dieseth & R.P. Singh, 1992. Breeding durum wheat at CIMMYT. In: S. Rajaram, E.E. Saari& G.P. Hettel(Eds.), Durum Wheats: Challenges and Opportunities, pp. 1–13. CIMMYT, Ciudad Obregon.
Ali Dib, T., P. Monneveux & J.L. Araus, 1992. Adaptation à la sércheresse et notion d’ideotype chez le blé dur. II. Caractéres physiologiques d’adaptation. Agronomie 12: 381–393.
Austin, R.B., M.A. Ford, J.A. Edrich & R.D. Blackwell, 1977. The nitrogen economy of winter wheat. J Agric Sci Camb 88: 159–167.
Blum, A., G. Golan, J. Mayer, B. Sinmena, L. Shpiler & J. Burra, 1989. The drought response of landraces of wheat from the northern Negev Desert in Israel. Euphytica 43: 87–96.
Blum, A., B. Sinmena, G. Golan & J. Mayer, 1987. The grain quality of landraces of wheat as compared with modern cultivars. Plant Breed 99: 226–233.
Bozzini, A., D. Bagnara, C. Mosconi, L. Rossi & G.T. Scarascia-Mugnozza, 1973. Trends and results of durum wheat mutation at G.T.Scarascia-Mugnozza(Ed.), Proceedings, Symposium on ‘Genetics and Breeding of Durum Wheat’, Bari, Italy, pp. 339–347.
Bozzini, A. & G.T. Scarascia-Mugnozza, 1967. A dominant short-straw mutation induced by thermal neutrons in durum wheat. Wheat Inform Serv 23–24: 5–6.
Clarke, J., B. Marchylo, M. Kovacs, J. Noll & T. McCaig, 1996. Screening of durum wheats for pasta quality: The Canadian system. In: Proceedings of the 5th International Wheat Conference’, Ankara. Abstract, pp. 233–234.
Cubadda, R. & M. Carcea, 1994. Evaluation of gluten strength in durum wheat and semolina by rapid methods. Italian Food Beverage Technol IV: 15–20.
D’Egidio, M.G., B.M. Mariani, S. Nardi, P. Novaro & R. Cubadda, 1990. Chemical and technological variables and their relationships: A predictive equation for pasta cooking quality. Cereal Chem 67: 275–281.
De Cillis, E., 1927. I grani d’Italia. Tipografia della Camera dei Deputati, Roma, p. 173.
Evans, L.T., 1993. Processes, genes and yield potential. In: D.R. Buxton, R. Shibles R.A. Forsberg B.L. Blad, K.H. Asay G.M. Paulsen & R.F. Wilson(Eds.), International Crop Science I, CSSA, pp. 687–696.
Feil, B., 1992. Breeding progress in small grain cereals. A comparison of old and modern cultivars. Plant Breed 108: 1–11.
Gale, M.D. & S. Youssefian, 1985. Dwarfing genes in wheat. Plant Breed, 1–36.
Grignac, P., 1965. Contribution à l’étude de Triticum durum Desf. Thése doctorat, Toulouse, p. 151.
Kirby, E.J.M., 1988. Analysis of leaf, stem and ear growth in wheat from terminal spikelet stage to anthesis. Field Crops Res 18: 127–140.
Koc, M., C. Barutcular & N. Zencirci, 2000. Grain protein and grain yield of durum wheats from south-eastern Anatolia, Turkey. Aust J Agric Res 51: 665–671.
Kramer, T., 1979. Environmental and genetic variation for protein content in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Euphytica 28: 209–218.
McNeal, F.H., M.A. Berg, P.L. Brown & C.F. Maguire, 1971. Productivity and quality response of five spring wheat genotypes, T. aestivum L., to nitrogen fertilizer. Agron J 58: 605–608.
Mi, G., L. Tang, F. Zhang & J. Zhang, 2000. Is nitrogen uptake after anthesis in wheat regulated by sink size? Field Crops Res 68: 183–190.
Milach, S.C.K. & L.C. Federizzi, 2001. Dwarfing genes in plant improvement. Adv Agron 73: 35–63.
Nachit, M.M., 1992. Durum breeding for Mediterranean drylands of north Africa and west Asia. In: S. Rajaram, E.E.Saari & G.P. Hettel(Eds.), Durum Wheats: Challenges and Opportunities, pp. 14–27, CIMMYT Mexico, Ciudad Obregon.
Quinn, G.P. & M.J. Keough, 2002. Experimental Design and Data Analysis for Biologists. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Motzo, R., Fois, S. & Giunta, F. Relationship between grain yield and quality of durum wheats from different eras of breeding. Euphytica 140, 147–154 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-004-2034-5
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-004-2034-5