Effects of high temperatures and drought during anthesis and grain filling period on wheat processing quality and underlying gluten structural changes

Jasna Mastilović, Dragan Živančev, Eva Lončar, Radomir Malbaša, Nikola Hristov, Žarko Kevrešan

Climate changes do not only affect wheat yield, but also its quality. The information on this topic gathered so far is somewhat contradictory and insufficient. Climate changes are also affecting wheat indirectly through their influence on the ecosystem, including insects and fungi that affect the wheat technological quality. The aim of this study has been to examine trends in structural and technological changes of wheat quality under conditions typical of climate changes. With this in mind, three groups of wheat varieties with the same Glu-score were examined in three production years, characterized by different production conditions. Production season which is characterized by climate change conditions, results in lower activity of amylolitic enzymes. What is more, it results in lower content of gluten, higher gluten index value, its decrease after 1h to 37 ° C, lower number of free SH groups and higher content of free amino groups that result in lower alwegraph W, lower farinograph WA and higher extensograph dough resistance. Variability in wheat quality produced under different climatic conditions is mainly influenced by the production conditions, including their influence on ecosystem factors. The influence of wheat cultivar genetic predisposition is much less expressed. This indicates that differences among cultivars with different Glu-score might be diminished under the influence of altered production conditions, as a consequence of climate change.