GrainGenes

ITEMS FROM YUGOSLAVIA

INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH 'SERBIA'

Center for Small Grains, Save Kovacevica 31, Kragujevac 34000, Yugoslavia.

Yield and quality of Ana Morava wheat cultivar. [p. 269-273]

Desimir Knezevic, Veselinka Zecevic, Nevena Djukic (Biological Faculty of Kragujevac, Yugoslavia), Danica Micanovic, Dusan Urosevic, and Biljana Dimitrijevic.

Ana Morava is new winter wheat cultivar created in Center for Small Grains. Selected as line Kg 3130 developed from the cross combination of cultivars Morava and Una, Ana Morava botanically belongs to T. aestivum subsp. vulgare var. lutescens. The cultivar expressed high grain yield production and good bread-making quality. The productive potential of grain yield is 10 t/ha. The bread-making quality is good and the cultivar is B1 according to Farinograph and in the 2nd quality group according to protein content and sedimentation volume.

Introduction. To increase the grain yield of cultivars that have already been exposed to an intense selection pressure for this character (e.g., bread wheat) it is necessary to use knowledge of the genetic basis of major morphological and physiological characteristics with the aim of developing new selection criteria. The aim of breeding is developing new wheats highly adapted to growing conditions. The yield potential of a wheat cultivar can be assessed on the basis of morphological and physiological characteristics that maximize expression (Borojevic 1986). Adaptability may be estimated according to yield potential of a cultivar that was grown in a different environment with limiting nutrients or water or when pests, diseases, and other stresses are not effectively controlled. The yields achieved in Yugoslav cultivars are on the level of European wheat cultivars (Bedö et al. 2001). At Kragujevac, we aim to select cultivars with high grain yield and good bread-making quality.

Material and methods. Ana Morava cultivar was selected as line KG-3130 derived from the cross 'Morava/Una'. Morava is a Kragujevac winter wheat cultivar with a stable grain yield and good bread-making quality. Una was created in the Novi Sad breeding center and has a high yield potential (10 t/ha) and very good technological quality (Misic et al. 1986). Parents of Ana Morava were highly resistant to low temperature. The good bread-making quality of Ana Morava was inherited from parents. Una has Glu-D1d, which correlates positively with good bread-making quality (Knezevic et. al. 1993) and could be donor of it gene.

Crosses were made in 1987. The hybrids were grown using the pedigree method of plant selection. Phenotypically similar lines in the F4 were selected. Those lines were tested during 3-4 years in microtrials on the experimental fields of the Center for Small Grains in Kragujevac. The best lines were selected for further testing in different environments.

During 1997-98 and 1999-00, wheat line Kg-3031 (now Ana Morava) was included and tested in microtrials of Yugoslav Federal Commission of plant cultivar approvement. Ana Morava was tested at five locations differing in ecology. Ana Morava and other lines were compared with check cultivars Partizanka and Pobeda. The resistance to pest and diseases was tested on the field and by artificial inoculation. The resistance to low temperature was tested in controlled conditions in freezing chambers by successively decreasing the temperature from 0-15 C during a 24 h period. Quality analyses of grain, flour, dough, and bread were made at the Technological Faculty of Novi Sad using standard laboratory methods. Data were obtained during testing at the Federal Commission of plant cultivar approvement.

Results and discussion. Productive traits. Grain yield is a very complex trait that depends on both genetic and environmental factors. Wheat breeding for this trait is tedious work. Genetic variability of yield components (number of spike/m2, number of kernels/spike, and grain mass) are very important. Resistance to pest and diseases, low temperature, and lodging and shattering are associated with grain yield. Tolerance to stress (water deficiency and soil salinity) also are associated with grain yield. After the examination of cultivars during several years in different environments, we can assess a cultivar's adaptability and plasticity. The average of grain yield of Ana Morava was 7.88 t/ha, higher than average yield of the Pobeda check and statistically was significantly higher than the average yield of Partizanka (Table 1). The maximum grain yield of Ana Morava at Novi Sad location in 1998-99 was 10 t/ha and indicated a grain-yield potential over 10.0 t/ha.

Morphophysiological traits. Ana Morava has white spike and a red kernel color, is awnless, and botanically belongs to T. aestivum subsp. vulgare var. lutescens. The average height for all years and locations was 96.1 cm (Table 2). The cultivar expressed the high level of resistance to lodging as in both parents. According to heading data, Ana Morava is a medium-to-early cultivar. Heading time of Ana Morava averages 1.75 days earlier than Pobeda and 0.75 day earlier than Partizanka. Resistance to low temperature was equal to that of Partizanka and higher (6.6 %) than that of the Pobeda check (Table 2). A test of resistance to low temperature showed that 100 % of the plants of Ana Morava survived. The ability of plants to survive below-freezing temperatures without damage at the seedling stage and in later stages of growth and development indicates good frost resistance. This trait is an extremely complex physiological trait that is both genetically and environmentally determined. A number of biochemical changes have been detected during cold acclimatization, for example, increasing content of sugar, soluble protein, proline, and other organic acids; appearance of new isozymes; and alterations in lipid compositions (Steponkus and Lynch 1989). Except for biochemical, biophysical, and physiological changes, cold acclimatization may involve changes in gene expression, i.e., cold-regulated genes (COR, Cattivelli and Bartels 1990). Ana Morava was characterized by good resistance to leaf rust, stem rust, and powdery mildew (Table 2).

Technological traits. The average 1,000-kernel weight of Ana Morava was 42.1 g; similar to that of Partizanka and 1.9 g less than that of Pobeda (Table 3). Hectoliter grain mass is an indicator of grain quality. A high hectoliter mass can be reliable indicator of high grain quality, the biological plasticity of the cultivar, and better resistance to high temperatures during the grain filling. Hectoliter mass in Ana Morava was higher than that of Pobeda and slightly lower than that of Partizanka on average. Sedimentation volume was lower than that of both check cultivars. A high sedimentation volume is correlated with gluten content and quality (Knezevic et al. 1993). Protein content in Ana Morava was similar to that of Pobeda but less (1.8 %) than that of Partizanka. However, protein content can vary depending on environmental factors and fertilizer dosage and regimes. Changes in protein content can cause changes in quality group classification and have an important role in the quality properties of grain, flour, and dough.

Water absorption depends on gluten quantity and quality. In Ana Morava, 63.7 % water absorption was similar to that of Pobeda (64.0 %) and higher than that of Partizanka (62.9 %). The quality number in Ana Morava was slightly lesser than either of the check cultivars. On the basis of farinograph analyses, Ana Morava belongs to the B1 quality group; Pobeda and Partizanka belong to the A1 quality group. Extensogram energy and the ratio of resistance to flexibility are indicators of gluten and dough quality (Saric et al. 1997). These parameters in Ana Morava are lower than those of the check cultivars Pobeda and Partizanka.

Grain quality of wheat depends mainly on the physiochemical characteristics of proteins. Gluten consists of a complex of gliadin and glutenins proteins with a strong physiochemical interaction. Altering the ratios of these proteins changes the protein properties. By increasing the gliadin content, the extensibility of gluten is increased, and by increasing the amount of glutenins, gluten is strengthened and is, therefore, less extensible (Finney et al. 1987; Knezevic et al. 1994). Bread yield, loaf volume, and crumb value are very important parameters to assess bread-making quality (Kovacev-Djolai et al. 1987). These parameters in Ana Morava were similar to those in the check cultivars. Ana Morava has excellent crumb quality.

Conclusions. During 1997-98 and 1999-00, wheat line Kg-3031 was included and tested in microtrials of Yugoslav Federal Commission of cultivar approvement. On the basis of value of expressed traits, the Yugoslav Federal Commission of cultivar approvement, approved this line as the cultivar Ana Morava in 2001. The breeders of cultivar are Drs. Desimir Knezevic and Veselinka Zecevic. Ana Morava botanically belongs to T. aestivum subsp. vulgare var. lutescens. The cultivar is characterized by white, awnless spikes and red grain with an average height of ~ 96.1 cm; high resistance to low temperatures and lodging; good resistance to leaf and stem rust and powdery mildew; and a high grain yield potential (> 10.0 t/ha). During the testing period, the average of grain yield was 7.88 t/ha, higher than the average yield of both check cultivars and significantly greater than that of the Partizanka check. The 1,000-kernel weight is 42.1 g, and the hectoliter grain mass is 88.0 kg. The bread-making quality is good and belongs to the B1 group according to Farinograph and the 2nd quality group according to protein content and sedimentation volume.

References.

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• Borojevic S. 1986. genetic changes in morphophysiologic characters in relation to breeding for increased wheat yield. In: Genetic Imptovement in yield of wheat. Crop Sci Soc Amer Spec Pub 13, Madison, WI. pp. 71-85.
• Cattivelli L and Bartels D. 1990. Molecular cloning and characterization of cold-regulated genes in barley. Plant Physiol 93:1504-1510.
• Finney KF, Yamazaki,WT, Youngs VL, and Rubenthaler G.L. 1987. Quality of hard, soft and durum wheats. In: Wheat and wheat improvement, 2nd ed (Heyne E ed). Amer Soc Agron, Madison, WI. pp. 677-748.
• Knezevic D, Femic V, and Micanovic D. 1994. Relationship between endosperm proteins in wheat and quality parameters. Contemp Agric 42:161-164 (in Serbian).
• Knezevic D, Surlan-Momirovic G,and Ciric D. 1993. Allelic variation at Glu-1 loci in some Yugoslav wheat cultivars. Euphytica 69(2):89-95.
• Kovacev-Djolai M and Radoicki N. 1987. Quality of grain, flour and loaf in Somborka, Duga, Staparka and Apatinka wheat cultivars from Novi Sad. In: Wheat 6 Million Tons. Novi Sad. pp. 43-51 (in Serbian).
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• Saric M, Markovic Z, Pajic M, and Gnip M. 1997. Importance of wheat technological quality for domestic processing and export. Agric Actuality, Belgrade. 5-6:73-78 (in Serbian).
• Steponkus PL and Lynch DV. 1989. Freeze/thaw-included destabilisation of the plasma membrane and effects of cold aclimation. J Bioen Biomembr 21:21-41.