COMPARISON OF METHODS FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF GLUTEN STRENGTH IN DURUM WHEAT FOR PASTA MAKING

CONTI, V; MIRAVALLES, M; CERVIGNI, G; MANTHEY, F; POLCI, P; MIRANDA R; DUBCOVSKY J; VIVIANA ECHENIQUE

Mar del Plata

Congreso; VII International Wheat Conference; 2005

SAPyA e INTA

Durum wheat is grown worldwide primarily for pasta production. The ability of durum wheat semolina to form a dough suited for the production of pasta with the required quality, is mainly due to the rheological characteristics of its gluten, commonly known as gluten strength (Cubbada et al, 1994). Because gluten strength is such an important factor for the obtention of high quality pasta it represents a central selection criterion in cultivar development. Under this perspective, plant breeders are continuously prompted to prove the screening value of new and currently used methods for semolina and pasta quality assessment, with the purpose of identifying those tests primarily affected by the genotype and less influenced by environment. The aim of this work was to analyse the accuracy of different methods for the assessment of gluten strength in durum wheat as a first step toward the identification of QTLs governing this trait.