Genetic improvement of grain yield and bread-making quality of winter wheat over the past 90 years under the Pannonian Plain conditions

Studies on genetic gains in a historical set of wheat cultivars mostly refer to grain yield and the associated agronomical and physiological traits, while less attention is paid to the improvement of wheat quality. In order to analyze the breeding progress in grain yield and with an emphasis on the main grain and flour properties, twenty-five winter wheat cultivars released in the Southern Pannonian Plain between 1930 and 2015 were grown in three consecutive seasons in Novi Sad (Serbia). The results from this study showed that grain yield increased linearly with an average rate of 45.5 kg ha−1 yr−1, implying that grain yield progress under conditions of the Southern Pannonian Plain have not reached the plateau. Protein and wet gluten content decreased significantly with year of cultivar release, with a bi-linear trend. On the other hand, sedimentation value and gluten index increased in modern wheat cultivars, indicating improved protein quality. Also, the main flour traits related to stronger gluten and high sedimentation value, such as extensograph energy, farinograph resistance and alveograph deformation work, showed improvement with year of cultivar release. Although there were no significant changes in Gluten score, subunits N, 7 + 9 and 5 + 10 at the Glu-A1, Glu-B1 and Glu-D1, respectively, were the most prevalent in modern cultivars. Improvement of the main grain and flour traits could be related with increased frequency of 7 + 9 and 5 + 10 subunits in modern wheat cultivars.