Physicochemical and Gluten Quality Characteristics of Commercial Wheat Varieties

Five commercial wheat varieties, namely C 306, HI 977, HW 2004, PBW 550 and WH 542 of diverse baking performances were examined for their physicochemical parameters, gluten quality and HMW-GS composition. All the varieties presented a broad spectrum of different quality parameters.Based on the kernel dimensions, thousand kernel weight and hectolitre weight, WH 542 was observed to have smaller and less plumpy grains, while HW 2004 possessed sound, plumpy and bulky grains. The protein content was found maximum for PBW 550 with SDS sedimentation volume of 60 ml. The gluten quality parameters, particularly, gluten index (GI), R/E ratio and gli/glu ratio showed remarkable differences among the varieties. The exceeding values of GI, R/E ratio alongwith superior breadmaking HMW-GS composition in PBW 550 and HI 977 makes them strong variety. On the contrary, the lower values of GI, R/E ratio with higher gli/glu ratio and inferior HMW-GS makes C 306 and HW 2004 as weak varieties.