Abstract
Grain protein content (GPC) is a key quality attribute and an important marketing trait in wheat. In the current cropping systems worldwide, GPC is mostly determined by nitrogen (N) fertilizer application. The objectives of this study were to understand the differences in N response between high and low GPC wheat genotypes, and to assess the value of biomass growth analysis to assess the differences in N response. Six wheat genotypes from a range of high to low GPC were grown in low, medium and high N, under glasshouse conditions. This experiment was designed around non-destructive estimation of biomass using a high throughput image-based phenotyping system. Results showed that Spitfire and Mace had higher grain N% than Gazelle and QAL2000, and appeared to demand more N to grow their biomass. Moreover, at low N, Spitfire grew faster and achieved the maximum absolute growth rate earlier than high N-treated plants. High grain N% genotypes seem able to manage grain N reserves by compromising biomass production at low N. This study also indicated the importance of biomass growth analysis to show the differences in the N responsiveness of high and low GPC wheat.
Highlights
Wheat is the most widely cultivated crop in the world and a substantial source of carbohydrate and protein in human diets [1]
NVT data data analysis analysis showed showed that that Spitfire produced the highest grain protein content (GPC), with Gazelle and QAL2000
The between relationship biomass and weight likely to be due to the positive correlation leaf between surface area and grain weight (Figure 5A) showed that biomass can be used as an indicator of grain weight above-ground biomass and grain weight is likely be duePrevious to the positive betweenmethods leaf and total photosynthesis per unit ground areato[33,51]
Summary
Wheat is the most widely cultivated crop in the world and a substantial source of carbohydrate and protein in human diets [1]. Increasing grain weight and grain quality are the two main goals in improving wheat production. In this context, grain protein content (GPC) is a key quality attribute and an important marketing trait [2]. Increasing GPC is positively correlated with grain hardness in both hard and soft wheats [3,4,5]. Changes in kernel hardness can affect milling, downstream processing and end products [6]. Due to the negative correlation between grain weight and GPC [7,8,9], grain weight increase may reduce the end-use quality of hard wheats [1,10].
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