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Title: ROLES OF THE FOUR ARS REGIONAL WHEAT QUALITY LABORATORIES IN U.S. WHEAT QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

Author
item Chung, Okkyung
item Gaines, Charles
item Morris, Craig
item Hareland, Gary

Submitted to: International Cereal and Bread Congress Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/3/2004
Publication Date: 5/26/2004
Citation: Chung, O.K., Gaines, C.S., Morris, C.F., Hareland, G.A. 2004. Roles of the four ars regional wheat quality laboratories in u.s. wheat quality improvement. International Cereal and Bread Congress Proceedings. pp. 1-5.

Interpretive Summary: Wheat quality improvement begins with breeding. Important traits targeted in wheat breeding include both agronomic and end-use quality. The current U.S. Standards categorize wheat into eight basic classes based on color, hardness, and growing season. Each wheat class is traditionally grown in a specific region in the U.S. The USDA-ARS Regional Wheat Quality Laboratories (RWQLs) were established by an Act of Congress: the Soft Wheat Quality Lab in 1936, the Hard Winter Wheat Quality Lab in 1937, the Western Wheat Quality Lab in 1946, and the Hard Red Spring & Durum Wheat Quality Lab in 1963. All four RWQLs have common missions: work with breeders to improve U.S. wheat by testing end-use quality of experimental breeding lines, develop reliable small-scale tests for evaluating early generation breeding lines, perform research on the contribution of flour biochemical components to observed differences in end-use quality, conduct research on molecular-genetic bases of quality, and develop rapid and objective prediction models for end-use quality. All four RWQLs focus primarily on the public (university and USDA- ARS) breeding lines and some private breeding lines. Over 95% of U.S. wheat released cultivars have been evaluated at one of the RWQLs. Therefore, the RWQLs have made paramount contributions to U.S. wheat quality improvements for all wheat classes. This presentation will describe the activity of each RWQL.

Technical Abstract: Wheat quality improvement begins with breeding. Important traits targeted in wheat breeding include both agronomic and end-use quality. The current U.S. Standards categorize wheat into eight basic classes based on color, hardness, and growing season. Each wheat class is traditionally grown in a specific region in the U.S. The USDA-ARS Regional Wheat Quality Laboratories (RWQLs) were established by an Act of Congress: the Soft Wheat Quality Lab in 1936, the Hard Winter Wheat Quality Lab in 1937, the Western Wheat Quality Lab in 1946, and the Hard Red Spring & Durum Wheat Quality Lab in 1963. All four RWQLs have common missions: work with breeders to improve U.S. wheat by testing end-use quality of experimental breeding lines, develop reliable small-scale tests for evaluating early generation breeding lines, perform research on the contribution of flour biochemical components to observed differences in end-use quality, conduct research on molecular-genetic bases of quality, and develop rapid and objective prediction models for end-use quality. All four RWQLs focus primarily on the public (university and USDA- ARS) breeding lines and some private breeding lines. Over 95% of U.S. wheat released cultivars have been evaluated at one of the RWQLs. Therefore, the RWQLs have made paramount contributions to U.S. wheat quality improvements for all wheat classes. This presentation will describe the activity of each RWQL.