Location: Small Grain and Food Crops Quality Research
Project Number: 3060-43440-015-000-D
Project Type: In-House Appropriated
Start Date: Apr 15, 2020
End Date: Apr 14, 2025
Objective:
Objective 1: Resolve changes in analytical methods (liquid chromatography, and near infrared and mid infrared spectroscopy) to rapidly evaluate phenotypic traits of hard spring wheat, durum, and oat elite cultivars.
Sub-Objectives:
1.A. Improve the characterization of polymeric proteins in hard spring wheat and durum.
1.B. Improve liquid chromatography to characterize gliadin proteins in hard spring wheat and durum.
1.C. Develop an improved liquid chromatography procedure to characterize proteins in oat.
1.D. Develop near infrared and mid infrared models to rapidly predict quality traits in hard spring wheat, durum, and oat.
Objective 2: Evaluate and report the milling (processing and intrinsic end-use quality) parameters of hard spring wheat, durum, and oat commercially viable cultivars as part of a Congressionally-designated direct mission of service (non-hypothesis driven).
Sub-Objectives:
2.A. Identify and evaluate processing and intrinsic end-use quality traits of experimental hard spring and durum wheat lines.
2.B. Identify and evaluate biochemical and processing quality traits of experimental oat lines.
Approach:
High quality grains are in demand for both domestic and international agricultural markets. The Hard Spring and Durum Wheat Quality Laboratory will evaluate processing and end-use quality traits of breeders’ experimental lines of wheat and oat relative to physical and biochemical attributes and genetic and environmental influences. This research is important to identify wheat lines that are of superior milling, baking, and processing quality before they are considered for commercial release. Since large numbers of samples need to be evaluated in a limited time frame in a plant breeding program, it is important to rapidly identify wheat and oat lines that are of superior processing and end-product quality. Research will be conducted to develop improved or innovative analytical methods that can rapidly characterize quality traits for hard spring wheat, durum, and oat. Specifically, research will be performed to resolve changes in liquid chromatography to rapidly characterize proteins that are important factors influencing processing and end-product quality. Research will also be conducted to improve prediction of quality traits using Fourier transform near infrared and mid-infrared spectroscopy. Machine learning, a new calibration method, will also be examined to calibrate prediction models of quality traits. Ultimately, the value of this research lies in its potential to enhance competitiveness of U.S. hard spring wheat, durum, and oat in domestic and international trade, increasing their market value.
