Cereal Chem. 73 (5):521-525  |  VIEW ARTICLE

Grain Quality

Milling and Baking Qualities of Some Wheats Developed for Eastern or Northwestern Regions of the United States and Grown at Both Locations.

Charles S. Gaines (1,2), Patrick L. Finney (1), and Gordon Rubenthaler (3). (1) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Soft Wheat Quality Laboratory, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Ohio State University, Wooster, OH 44691. Mention of a trademark or proprietary product does not constitute a guarantee or warranty of a product by the USDA, and does not imply its approval to the exclusion of other products that also can be suitable. (2) Corresponding author. Fax: 216/263-3658. (3) Retired, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Western Wheat Quality Laboratory, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-6394. Accepted May 15, 1996. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc., 1996. 

Nine soft wheats that were developed for the Eastern United States and six soft wheats developed for the Northwestern United States were each grown in the states of Michigan and Washington for two crop years. Wheats were analyzed for milling and baking qualities by two laboratories. Cultivar differences were observed relative to intended region of adaptation and to location of growth. Except for noodle color and texture, all quality tests could distinguish among cultivars on the basis of intended adaptation or location of growth. Cultivar differences due to region of adaptation were generally small but consistent for most milling and baking qualities. Northwestern-adapted wheats tended to have higher test weight, harder kernels, and to produce more flour than Eastern-adapted wheats. Northwestern-adapted wheat flours had higher amounts of ash and more damaged starch than did Eastern-adapted wheat flours. Eastern-adapted wheats were softer and their flour had less ash and less damaged starch than did Northwestern-adapted wheats. Eastern-adapted wheats absorbed less water and their flours baked larger sugar-snap cookies than did Northwestern-adapted wheats. Wheats grown in Washington were harder and produced more flour that had less ash and lower protein content than wheats grown in Michigan. Wheats grown in Michigan produced flours that had lower damaged starch, lower water absorption, larger sugar-snap cookies, larger Japanese sponge cakes, and better udon noodles than wheats grown in Washington. Wheats developed for both growing regions apparently have comparable genetic quality attributes. However, climatic conditions during growth apparently have greater influence over most quality traits than does genotype. The environment had strong influence on grain condition. Grain condition had the most influence on milling characteristics. The environment also had the most influence on baking characteristics, with softer kernels producing better end-use characteristics. Almost all of the commonly evaluated quality tests studied were sensitive to the wide range in qualities exhibited by the samples.