Wheat enzymes status influenced by climate changes

Technological quality of wheat flour is influenced by various factors including genotype, environment, protein content and quality as well as climatic conditions during plant development time. The influence of enzymes, particularly the influence of amylases and proteases in wheat is also of significant importance in baking technology. Bread with increased amylolytic activity have wet, sticky crumb while the higher proteolytic activity leads to protein decomposition which is connected to changes in water absorption of gluten and its rheological properties. The aim of this work was to investigate the changes in activity of these enzymes in wheat flour during the 2011 and 2012 growing seasons. Regard to meteorological conditions, 2012 growing season was characterized by higher temperatures and higher amount of precipitation in comparison with 2011 growing season. Four different wheat cultivars (Triticum aestivum) Pobeda, Zvezdana, Gordana and Apache, in four regions in Serbia were selected for the study. The obtained results showed the significant decrease of amylolytic and proteolytic activity in the studied period. The level of enzyme activity in tested samples was significantly influenced by the cultivar and location. The highest amylolytic and proteolytic activity was obtained for cultivar Apache. The lowest level of amylolytic and proteolytic activity was observed for cultivar Zvezdana.