End-Use Quality of Six Hard Red Spring Wheat Cultivars at Different Irrigation Levels

Abstract

Moisture stress is an environmental factor that may influence end-use quality of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of moisture stress on end-use quality of hard red spring wheat cultivars differing in adaptation to moisture stress. Six hard red spring wheat cultivars were grown in 1992 and 1993 near Aberdeen, ID under a tine-source irrigation system used to apply differential amounts of water during the period from tillering through anthesis. Protein content, flour yield, dough rheological properties, and breadmaking quality of grain were evaluated across differential levels of moisture stress. Cultivar effects accounted for more variation in end-use quality than cultivar x irrigation interactions. Cultivars differed in magnitude of end-use quality response to moisture stress applied through anthesis, which changed cultivar rankings for flour protein, flour yield, mixograph peak height, mixograph tolerance, mixing time, and loaf volume. Differences in the relationship of loaf volume to protein were observed among cultivars. Identification of cultivars with stable end-use quality requires evaluation across a range of protein contents, which are produced by differential soil moisture availability.