Abstract
THE quality of wheat as influenced by environment is the subject of a recent paper by F. T. Shutt and S. N. Hamilton (Emp. J. Exp. Agric., 2, p. 119). The question is not one of scientific interest only, but also of the first commercial importance in the flour-milling and baking industries. Value in wheat depends chiefly on the character and amount of the protein (gluten) it contains, but whereas the former is essentially an inherited factor, the latter may be considerably influenced by environmental conditions. The time which elapses between the formation and ripening of the kernel practically controls its gluten content—the shorter the period the higher the percentage—so that seasonal conditions such as high temperatures and absence of excessive moisture during the later stages of development, which tend to hasten ripening, result in a valuable high-protein wheat. Conversely, a starchy grain is produced if climatic conditions tend to prolong growth during this period. The richness of the soil, even as regards its nitrogen content, does not appear to have much influence on the quantity of protein in the grain, but its moisture absorbing capacity may be of considerable importance as it is necessarily closely associated with the rate of ripening of the crop. From data which have been collected over a period of twenty-eight years at a number of stations in Canada, it has been deduced that the excellent quality of the wheats from the prairie provinces is largely to be attributed to the favourable seasonal conditions that obtain, and not solely to the selection of the most suitable varieties for that district.
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Quality of Wheat. Nature 135, 502–503 (1935). https://doi.org/10.1038/135502d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/135502d0