The effects of sowing date and seeding rate on spelt and common wheat protein composition and characteristics

Abstract

We investigated the influence of sowing date and seeding rate on protein composition and quality parameters in two winter spelt cultivars (Triticum aestivum ssp. spelta L.) and one common winter wheat cultivar (Triticum aestivum ssp. vulgare L.). Wheat was grown during a 3 year experiment (2007-2010) at the Microplots Experimental Station in Pulawy, Poland. The first experimental factor was the seeding rate: 300, 450 and 600 grains/m2. The second factor was the sowing date: optimal and delayed (2 weeks delayed versus optimal). The third factor was cultivar: two spelt cultivars (Rokosz and STH 8) and one common wheat cultivar (Sukces). Detailed analysis by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography of protein subunits revealed many significant differences between grain samples in relation to the tested sources of variation (sowing date, seeding rate and genotype). Delayed sowing and the lowest seeding rate slightly reduced the relative ratio of gliadins to glutenins, which points to a shift in t...