Influence of the cultivar, environment and management on the grain yield and bread-making quality in winter wheat

• Winter wheat cultivars in various environments in Poland were investigated.
• Seventeen traits characterized grain and bread-making quality were measured.
• The baking score and loaf volume varied largely between years.
• A strong effect of the location on the dough development and protein content was observed.
• Increase of the protein content and sedimentation value caused increase of the rheological traits.

The genotype, environment and their interaction play an important role in the grain yielding and grain quality attributes. The main aim of this study was to determine the contributions of the genotype, environment and their interaction to the variation in bread-making traits. The data that were used for the analyses performed in this study were obtained from 3 locations in Poland from post-registration multi-environment trials with winter wheat in 2009 and 2010. The experimental factors were the cultivar (7 cultivars) and the crop management level (low input and high input). In the multi-environment trials, 17 traits were investigated that characterize grain, flour and dough quality. Most of the traits were affected much more strongly by environmental factors (i.e., year and location) than by genotype. The variance components revealed an especially strong effect of the year on the baking score, loaf volume and water absorption, as well a strong effect of the location on dough development and protein content. The obtained results demonstrate that the grain quality as measured by the parameters based on the protein content and quality may be substantially improved by crop management practices, especially by N fertilization level.