Abstract
Although the conventional tillage (CT) system dominates in the cultivation of wheat in Europe, currently, mainly for economic and environmental reasons, especially in the case of new varietal genotypes, reduced tillage systems (RT), including no-tillage (NT), are practised. The aim of the research was to evaluate the influence of tillage systems on yield, gas exchange parameters, chlorophyll fluorescence, and the quantity and quality of protein of hybrid winter wheat cultivars grown under various hydrothermal conditions in the years of the research. A field experiment was carried out between 2016 and 2019 in Domaradz (49°47′38′′ N, 21°56′54′′ E), Poland. The following factors were tested: three tillage systems—conventional (CT), reduced (RT) and no-tillage (NT), and five hybrid cultivars of winter wheat—Hybery, Hyking, Hymalaya, Hypocamp and Hyvento. The highest grain yield and the most favourable values of physiological parameters were found in the CT system in comparison to the reduced systems RT and NT. Unfavourable hydrothermal conditions with a deficit of precipitation during the 2018/2019 growing season resulted in a decrease in the grain yield and selected physiological parameters in the CT system, while they increased in the NT system. More favourable physiological parameters and higher yields resulted from cultivation of hybrid winter wheat in the CT system for cvs. Hymalaya and Hypocamp grain, and in the NT system for cv. Hyking. The use of the CT system in comparison to RT and NT resulted in a significant increase in the value of grain quality parameters and the content of the sum of gliadins and glutenins as well as γ, ω gliadins and HMW glutenins. No statistical differences were found in the content of albumin and globulin or α/β subunits of gliadins and LMW glutenins in the CT and RT systems. Cvs. Hyvento and Hyking, in the CT as well as in the RT and NT systems, obtained higher values of quality characteristics and fractions and subunits of gluten proteins, especially when low hydrothermal coefficients were recorded during the grain formation and ripening period (June–July).
Highlights
Wheat is a widely cultivated species in the world with the largest sown area of 215.9 million ha [1]
The leaf area index (LAI) achieved the highest value in the conventional tillage (CT) system compared to other tillage systems, by 10.3% (RT) and 8.3% (NT), respectively (Table 4)
A similar relationship in studies with spring wheat was obtained by Kulig et al [39], where this ratio was higher by an average of 12.0% for facilities in the CT system compared to reduced tillage systems (RT)
Summary
Wheat is a widely cultivated species in the world with the largest sown area of 215.9 million ha [1]. Despite the relatively low protein content of the grain, wheat provides as much protein as the total cultivation of soybeans. This contributes to the high nutritional importance of wheat proteins, especially in less developed countries, where wheat products constitute the basic and significant part of the human diet [2]. The main goal of modern plant breeding is to obtain winter wheat cultivars characterised by yield stability, having the desired quality characteristics and being resistant to adverse environmental conditions, including abiotic stresses caused by climate change [3,4]. In addition to increasing the yielding potential, hybrid winter wheat has a more stable productivity under various environmental conditions, including those exposed to stress, compared to traditional pureline cultivars [8]. The success of hybrid winter wheat breeding and its implementation is hampered mainly due to the high cost of seed production (due to the low seed set on the male-sterilised female lines) [10]
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