Improving the industrial quality of wheat in the Southern Cone

Executive Summary

The objective was to contribute to the development of wheat varieties (Triticum aestivum) of industrial quality to increase the competitiveness of the crop in the Southern Cone and improve the availability of food in the Region. This depended on the determination of molecular factors associated with gluten quality and rheological and processing factors determining industrial quality.

Germplasm selection parameters were established. Genotypes were also identified, including about 150 genotypes of regional wheat, which combine industrial quality with good agronomic performance and disease resistance, and methodologies were standardized for germplasm selection and for describing quality characteristics of advanced lines of breeding programs. A germplasm development program was initiated to combine desirable quality characteristics into new varieties. 

Work was done with a collection of 140 genotypes representing the genetic variability of each country participating in the project and a representative sample was characterized molecularly and rheologically, establishing which alleles of loci have the greatest influence on industrial quality. Rheological results from contrasting environments were compared with the results of molecular studies and the existence of high quality bakery genotypes was verified in all participating countries.

The technological solution

The project, of basic research, did not generate technological solutions directly applicable to a productive sector. However, it did generate information and knowledge about the genetic variability of wheat germplasm in the region. This information is important for breeding programs that will produce commercial varieties with high productivity and good characteristics for processing by industry.

Results

Beneficiaries

The direct beneficiaries are the teams of wheat breeders in the region whose knowledge of genotypes with high variability in characteristics of value to industry and consumers has been significantly increased. This increased knowledge can enhance the capacity to address the development of new varieties of wheat, which achieve better quality values for final consumers of the wheat agro-industrial chain, while satisfying the demands of both producers and the milling and bakery industries.

Sustainable Development Goals

Main donors