Genetic potential of winter wheat grain quality in Central Asia

The grain quality of winter wheat varies significantly by cultivars and growing region, not previously differentiated by end-use (baking, confectionery, etc.) in the national breeding programs. In these conditions it is advisable to determine the genetic potential and analyze the actual grain quality. Determining the genetic potential requires the cultivars classification by grain hardness and composition of the HMS and the LMS glutenin. The most of winter wheat cultivars from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and CIMMYT are classified as “hard” and “semi hard” (62-95% in different blocks), characterizing them as baking wheat in the respective regions. The “soft” grain samples were also detected in small amounts ranging from 2% (Tajikistan) to 11% (Kazakhstan). Varieties are ranked by the HMS-glutenin from 10 (max) to (min) 4 point Payne scale for quality and by the LMS-glutenin from 5 to 1. The genetic potential of breeding material was determined by composition of the glutenin subunits as high level (75-80%). Several cultivars classified as “soft” –Batyr, Komsomolskaya 103 (Kazakhstan) and new registered cultivars Konditerskaya. It is therefore important not only to identify potential quality, but also its implementation in the specific growing conditions of the region.