A comparative study of the quality status of Condor Wheat grown in Northern Victoria and Southern New South Wales

Abstract

Australian Wheat Board quality advisers had formed the opinion that Condor wheat (Trificum aestivum L.) grown in north-west Victoria possessed weaker dough properties than that grown in southern New South Wales, even at similar grain protein contents. Samples of commercially grown Condor wheat from north-west Victoria and southern New South Wales were collected by Australian Wheat Board field officers to objectively investigate this observation. Testing of these samples indicated Condor grown in north-west Victoria to have significantly weaker dough properties than that grown in southern New South Wales. Doughs were less tolerant to mixing in the farinograph and had reduced extensograph maximum resistance, even when there was no difference in protein content between the samples from the two regions. The reduced dough strength in the Victorian samples was associated with lower nitrogen: sulfur ratios and residue protein content and fewer rheologically important disuifide groups per 50 g of flour. These differences were presumed to have resulted from some aspect of the environment during plant growth and development.