Associations between grain characteristics and alcohol yield among soft wheat varieties

Abstract Samples of ten winter wheat varieties, grown at four locations on the eastern side of the UK were assessed for alcohol yield. There was a strong negative association between alcohol yield and grain nitrogen content, but this was strongly influenced by differences between the sites, with a range of alcohol yields observed at given nitrogen levels. Inclusion of grain size parameters, thousand grain weight and grain length:width ratio, along with nitrogen, in a multiple regression, enabled more accurate prediction of alcohol yield for most of the varieties, indicating that grain size would be a useful parameter for selecting the best samples within varieties. A small‐scale measurement of hot water extract, along with grain nitrogen content, gave a reasonable prediction of alcohol yield, but the regression equation was not consistent across seasons. Starch content and turbidity (a measure of the ease of starch release) were both shown to be significantly influenced by variety, but not to give significant correlations with alcohol yield over a range of samples. Positive expression of these characters appeared, however, to contribute to improved alcohol yield in certain of the varieties. It was concluded that different genetic mechanisms influence alcohol yield and that improved breeding lines could be developed by combining positive alcohol yield attributes from complementary parents. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry