Investigating Quantitative and Qualitative Performance of Bread Wheat Genotypes Under Different Climatic Conditions

Abstract

A six-year experiment was carried out with natural variation in temperature and rainfall during grain filling period between 2011–17 growing seasons to investigate the effects of different environments and cultivars on quantity and quality of bread wheat. The experiments were laid out in a randomized complete block design arranged with three replicates. Eight wheat cultivars (Pishgam, Sirvan, Parsi, Bahar, Pishtaz, Sepahan, Sivand and Arg) were selected for evaluation. Grain and biological yields, protein and wet gluten contents, hectoliter weight, and Zeleny sedimentation value were measured. The results indicated that the main effects of year and cultivar were significant on grain and biological yields, hectoliter weight, and Zeleny sedimentation value. There were significant differences in the interaction effect of year × cultivar on protein and wet gluten contents. Although, Parsi cultivar contained the highest grain yield and hectoliter weight (averaged by years, 6603.83 kg ha−1 and 78.10 kg hl−1, respectively), the greatest protein content, and Zeleny sedimentation value belonged to Sivand (12.68% and 23.53 ml, respectively) and Sirvan (12.63% and 23.14 ml, respectively) cultivars. According to the results, there was a statistically significant correlation between grain yield, hectoliter weight, and rainfall during grain filling period. There was a negative and significant correlation between grain yield, Zeleny sedimentation value, and protein and wet gluten contents. Our findings suggested that Sivand and Sirvan cultivars are potentially suitable for making bread and could be cultivated in similar climates due to high protein content and Zeleny sedimentation value.