Grain Quality and Improvement in Wheat and Some Quality Aspect of Pasta Industries in Ethiopia: A Review

Abstract

Depending on the intended use, quality can relate to a variety of physical and chemical characteristics of the product. Additionally, the standards for judging wheat grain quality attributes are as varied as their various applications. The impacts of some important genes for grain hardness, genes that code for storage proteins, etc., have been well documented. The development of DNA-based markers for desirable qualities is now possible because to the development of molecular biology. Therefore, DNA markers complement traditional breeding techniques, allowing for the quicker development of novel cultivars with desirable traits. Due to the low volume of durum wheat grain, Ethiopian pasta businesses still augment bread wheat flour with colorants and pasta zymes and are negatively impacted by the high import costs. Local farmers are increasing their durum wheat production and supplying high-quality durum wheat grain. Maintaining the grain quality of wheat under climate change is essential for human nutrition, end-use functional qualities, as well as commodity value, but the weak supply chain from the producer to the manufacturer is affecting both. Wheat yield can rise by up to 36% under conditions of high CO₂, however grain protein concentrations often decline and a change in composition results in fewer useful qualities. Crops that are post-anthesis can have a step-change drop in grain-set, grain size, and milling yield due to high temperatures. Wheat dough has lower viscoelasticity qualities because high temperature stress affects the glutenin/gliadin ratio and restricts the synthesis of the bigger sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-insoluble glutenin polymers. The current understanding of the effects of high temperatures and elevated atmospheric CO₂on the whole-grain and functional properties of wheat, as well as the recent development of molecular markers and their use in breeding programs, particularly to improve traits relating to wheat grain, are reviewed in this paper. Finally, a few aspects of the Ethiopian pasta industry are discussed.