EFFECTS OF THE D GENOME ON MILLING AND BAKING PROPERTIES OF WHEAT

Abstract

The common hexaploid wheat Triticum aestivum L. emend. Thell. ssp. vulgare MacKey cv. Canthatch (2n = 42 = AABBDD), the tetraploid component (2n = 28 = AABB) extracted from it, Triticum durum Desf., cv. Stewart 63 (2n = 28 = AABB) and five synthetic hexaploids (2n = 42 = AABBDD) produced by combining the extracted tetraploid with Aegilops squarrosa (2n = 14 = DD) were tested for several milling and baking properties. Compared with Canthatch, a bread wheat of high quality, the extracted tetraploid had extremely poor baking characteristics; it was very similar to Stewart 63. The baking performance of the synthetic hexaploids was much superior to that of the extracted tetraploid but considerably inferior to that of Canthatch. The results substantiated the supposition that the D genome derived from Ae. squarrosa has contributed the desirable milling and baking properties which distinguish hexaploid bread wheats from those of the tetraploid group.