WQC: Analyzing Quality Performance of New Wheat Lines

By Tracy Sayler

With a membership consisting of wheat groups and wheat
 users across the U.S., the primary goal of the Wheat Quality Council (www.wheatqualitycouncil.org) is to enhance the milling and end-use qualities of wheat in the United States. The group organizes annual preharvest tours to survey the quality of the wheat crop in various production regions (The 2001 hard red spring wheat tour is July 30 to Aug 2).  More importantly, however, the WQC coordinates yearly analysis of milling and baking qualities of experimental wheat lines. The tests allow wheat breeders to make adjustments in their potential varieties, and allow millers and bakers to become cognizant of the milling and baking characteristics of up-and-coming varieties, as well as keep tabs on how the performance of wheat lines are affected by environmental conditions.

Milling and baking performance test results of experimental wheat lines are discussed by wheat breeders and milling and baking company users at the WQC annual meeting.  Historically, analysis and discussion concentrated on the needs of the domestic wheat industry.  The 2001 WQC meeting was the first to include discussion of wheat variety quality performance from the standpoint of exporters.

At the WQC meeting, John Oades, director of U.S. Wheat Associates’ office in Portland, gave an overview of the USW Overseas Varietal Analysis (OVA) Project, in which overseas wheat users evaluate the milling and baking performance of U.S. wheat varieties.

Oades expressed his hope of expanding USW’ overseas varietal analysis project to allow overseas wheat users to test the milling and baking performance of experimental U.S. wheat lines, in addition to current wheat varieties.  U.S. spring wheat varieties evaluated overseas under the USW OVA project include Amidon, Ernest, Keene, McNeal, Trenton, 2375, 2398, Forge, Gunner, Russ, Ingot, and Oxen.  Canadian western red spring wheat is tested as well for milling and baking performance comparison.

In the future, Oades says it would make sense to somehow incorporate the performance analysis being conducted by the WQC for domestic wheat users, and performance analysis conducted under the USW OVA project for overseas wheat users, so that U.S. wheat breeders as well as wheat users domestically and overseas receive more of a common message on performance results.