INFLUENCE OF GENOTYPE AND ENVIRONMENT ON MINERAL ELEMENT AND PROTEIN CONCENTRATIONS OF WHEAT FLOUR, BRAN, AND GRAIN

Mineral and protein concentrations were determined in grain, flour, and bran from 27 wheat varieties in the 12th International Winter Wheat Performance Nursery (IWWPN) grown at six locations and 27 wheat lines from the 1983 Nebraska High Protein - High Lysine (HP-HL) Nursery grown at Yuma, Az. Analyses of grain from the IWWPN has shown that significant variation in mineral and protein concentration of flour, bran, and grain can be attributed to differences in environment and genotype and their interaction. Variation in environment and genotype had a somewhat different influence on flour and bran composition. Mineral concentrations in bran appeared more strongly influenced by environmental conditions than genotype. Concentrations of some elements in flour were influenced more by genotype than environment. Whole grain composition tended to reflect an average of the responses of flour and bran. The interaction of genotype and environment also was shown to significantly contribute to mineral and protein variability. Protein content of flour and grain had a significant positive influence on concentrations of most minerals. Nine wheat lines from the 1983 Nebraska HP-HL Nursery were determined to have grain protein levels significantly higher than the check variety \u27Lindon\u27. Six lines were shown to accumulate significantly higher concentrations or protein in endosperm than in bran. These lines should be useful in the future development and breeding of high protein cultivars. High significant variation in mineral concentrations of grain, flour, and bran was found among lines in the HP-HL Nursery. Concentrations of several minerals were highly correlated with grain protein content. Whole grain concentrations of protein and minerals were shown to accurately reflect endosperm composition. Composition of bran and flour was not highly correlated, indicating the relative independence of these two grain components