Investigating Parental Effects on End-Use Quality in Hard Winter Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Hybrids

To optimize the performance and marketing of hybrid wheat, breeders need to understand the impact parents have on end-use quality. The goal of this study was to investigate the inheritance of end-use quality traits of hard winter wheat reciprocal hybrids produced by Easterly (2017). The 2016 analysis included 71 reciprocal hybrid combinations from 13 parents and the 2017 analysis included 79 reciprocal hybrid combinations from 14 parents. The reciprocals were composed of crosses between the top performing and bottom performing parents with respect to end-use quality as quantified by a Mixograph, a SDS sedimentation assay, and a SDS-SRC hybrid assay. The Mixograph was digitalized using Mixsmart® software provided by the National Manufacturing Company (National Manufacturing Company) and two Mixograph analyses were derived to determine the quality of the hybrid; the mix peak time (min) analysis, and the gluten strength {(%TQ*min)/grams of protein} x tolerance (unitless) analysis. In general, the Mixograph analyses of the reciprocals indicated the dough strength of the hybrid tended to reflect the dough strength of the female parent as hybrids that combined a strong female with a strong male and hybrids that combined a strong female with a weak male had relatively strong dough strength. Conversely, the hybrids that combined a weak female with a weak male and a weak female with a strong male exhibited relatively weak dough strength. The maternal effects could be due to higher rates of self-pollination than initially thought, or due to the genetic composition of the triploid endosperm, which is composed of 2N maternal and 1N paternal DNA. Easterly indicated that one parent, NE07531 was well sterilized, and hybrids NE07531 was the female parent appeared to have mid-parent dough strength, suggesting that at least in some cases, true hybrids were produced. Irrespective of any reciprocal cross differences, it appeared in some cases a single high quality parent can potentially mask end-use quality deficiencies of the other parent in the performance of the hybrid, but this need further work to determine. Advisor: P. Stephen Baenzige