Our research deals with the genetic bases for the physical and biochemical determininants of milling and end-use qualities of eastern soft winter wheat.
 
 

The major objective is to maintain or improve the quality and value of US wheat.  The value of the United States wheat crop depends on the “quality” of the grain.  To be useful and to command premium international prices, wheat must possess the specific milling and end-use properties considered important by the millers and food processors of the world.  As mandated by Congress, this laboratory evaluates wheat lines generated by the 19-State University and 6-10 private wheat breeding programs located in the eastern half of the United States.  And, the laboratory is mandated to recommend which of those wheat lines, if released as commercially cultivated cultivars, would maintain or improve the quality and value of the United States wheat crop. 

The quality testing and evaluation protocol to maintain or improve wheat quality and value continues to evolve as it has during the six decades the Soft Wheat Quality Laboratory (SWQL) has functioned.  Discovering ways to improve the evaluation protocol remains the major thrust of the research phase of the laboratory.  Presently, that discovery process includes studies on:

1) components of grain condition and their effects on milling and end-use quality and value;

2) the molecular and genetic bases for milling and end-use quality and value using genetic mapping and DNA marker technology; and 

3) specific studies evaluating the roles of both the flour protein fractions and the starch fractions on milling and baking properties.  Those research phases aim to increase our capability to predict wheat and flour quality using existing or new scientific methods and testing procedures so that wheat lines released continue to maintain or increase the value of the United States wheat crop. 

Soft  wheat is sold on the basis of its perceived end use potential value.  Presently, however, a major perception of that potential value is based on that predicted using a crude bulk density measurement.   Often that measurement produces broadly general, imprecise, and misleading appraisals of grain condition and its end use potential value.

Certainly we must maintain or improve the quality, and therefore value, of eastern United States wheat for both domestic and international buyers.  Thus, the major research problem remains critical.  Worldwide, grain trading transactions based as they are, in part, on bulk density measurements, do not well serve the participants and partners of wheat commerce.  Both sellers and buyers often are not accurately compensated for true potential market value of commercial wheat.  This basic inaccuracy and inability to predict quality at the point of sale,greatly impedes development of improved added value for US wheat cultivars.

Wheat starch exists as small granules composed of two main types of molecules.  The size of the granules and the ratio of those two types of molecules affect their chemical composition and functionality, yet these have not been characterized for soft wheats grown in the Eastern U.S.

Without characterization of the starch granule composition of soft wheat cultivars, it is not possible to infer association between starch type and end use or end product qualities, even though it is widely assumed that there is a correlation.  At present, wheat breeders do not have access to this knowledge base when choosing genetic parents for wheats that could be desirable for specific soft wheat markets and end uses.
 
 

The research objectives and accomplishments of the SWQL are national in scope insofar as the evaluation and research phases are accomplished for the entire eastern half of the nation and both the evaluation and research phases could not be completed, without many times the cost,  by the 19 individual States and others served.

Better quality U.S. wheats are those that express superior grain condition, milling potential, and baking qualities and that are better characterized for their intrinsic qualities through research and evaluation.  This research produces answers to some of the key issues and problems associated with generating added value to the US wheat crop. Additionally, this research insures the release of improved soft wheat cultivars and offers the entire wheat industry predictive methodology to more accurately assess the true economic value of those wheats once they enter commerce. 

In addition to current and future improvements in the US wheat crop, these efforts offer new methodologies, processing information, genetic characterization, and solutions to various problems confronting wheat breeders, millers, and bakers everywhere in the world where U.S. wheats are utilized.  Specifically, rapid automated measurement technology (RAMT) is a continuing goal for development by ARS for application by GIPSA in grain grading.   A basic understanding of the shriveling vs puffing nature of wheat as they influence test weight must be established before RAMT can be developed.  Prior to our research,  there was no objective method to assess puffed wheat on which to base any developing RAMT.
 
 

  The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in its programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion,age disability, political beliefs, and marital or familial status.(Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) 

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, larg print, audiotape, etc.) should contact the USDA Office of Communications at 202-720-2791.  To file a complaint, write the Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250, or call 1-800-245-6340 (voice) or 202-720-1127 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity employer. 

This page maintained by James Kinney. Please send me your questions, comments, or suggestions.