Evolution of bread-making quality of Spanish bread-wheat genotypes

Abstract

In this study, 36 Spanish wheat genotypes (five modern commercial cultivars, four cultivars introduced after the green revolution and 27 landraces from northwestern Spain) were evaluated. Grain (yield, specific weight, protein content and falling number) and flour (yield, protein content, Zeleny index, wet gluten and gluten index) properties were analyzed. Dough behaviour during mixing (DoughLAB) and handling (alveograph) was also considered. An evolution in grain and flour properties was observed over time. In modern cultivars, grain yield was improved owing to higher grain production. In landraces, higher grain yields were related to larger grain size. Unlike in landraces, an inverse correlation between grain yield and protein content was found in modern cultivars. In addition, because of their high protein quality, modern cultivars surpassed landraces in bread-making properties. Landraces showed considerable variability in protein quality and scored lower curve configuration ratio values than other cultivars with similar strength. Cultivars introduced after the green revolution reached the highest levels of bread-making quality, a feature attributable to their high protein quality.