Protein and Starch Content of 20 Wheat (<i>Triticum aestivum</i> L.) Genotypes Exposed to High Temperature Under Late Sowing Conditions

Abstract

A total of 20 spring wheat genotypes were evaluated under three growing conditions (optimum, late and very late) at the research farm of the Wheat Research Center, Bangladesh to assess the variation in grain yield, protein and starch content under heat stress. All genotypes were significantly affected by high temperature stress in late and very late sowing conditions, resulting in a decrease in days to heading and maturity, ultimately affecting yield, protein and starch content. Considering yield performance, genotype ‘E-8’ was best under optimum (6245 kg ha-1), late (5220 kg ha-1) and very late sowing (4657 kg ha-1) conditions while ‘E-40’ was the worst. With respect to yield reduction, genotype ‘E-72’ was heat-tolerant (13% yield reduction) while ‘Prodip’ (49% yield reduction) was heat-susceptible. On the other hand, it was found that the percentage protein increased as heat stress increased. Under heat stress, genotype ‘E-65’ and ‘E-60’ had the highest and lowest protein content (15.5% and 12%), respectively. With respect to starch content, ‘Prodip’ and ‘E-37’ had the highest while ‘E-14’ and ‘E-72’ had the lowest content (64.8% vs. 62.9%), respectively in all sowing conditions. Keywords: Yield; Protein; Starch; Wheat. © 2012 JSR Publications. ISSN: 2070-0237 (Print); 2070-0245 (Online). All rights reserved. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jsr.v4i2.8679 J. Sci. Res. 4 (2), 477-489 (2012)