Investigation of climate-quality relationship in bread wheat (T. aestivum L.) by novel statistical approach (ESOGÜ quality index)

In this study, precipitation; temperature (maximum, minimum, and average temperature) values of Eskişehir, Konya, Afyonkarahisar, Uşak, and Kütahya for years (2007–2018); and protein content, macro sedimentation (MSDS), thousand kernel weight (KW), test weight (TW) relations, and the effect of climate values on quality were investigated. The Kriging method was used by ArcGIS software for creating quality maps of Eskişehir, Konya, Afyonkarahisar, Uşak, and Kütahya provinces in the light of obtained data from these examined quality criteria, yield, and climate factors. The quality of bread wheat, which includes protein content, macro sedimentation, thousand kernel weight, and test weight, is highly affected by the subject precipitation, maximum temperature, minimum temperature, average temperature, and precipitation. While the months of November, March, and April and the total annual precipitations affect the quality, the most effective precipitation is the months of April and November. Again, the fact that the winter months are hot, especially in January and February, causes the plant to be inadequate to withstand the winter, causing the plant to be more affected by the low temperatures in the early spring and to reduce the quality due to insufficient plant growth. Climatic factors affect quality in total, not alone, but cumulatively. It was concluded that the best quality wheat can be obtained from Konya, Eskişehir, and Afyonkarahisar provinces. It was concluded that ESOGÜ quality index (EQI), evaluating and integrating protein content, macro sedimentation, thousand kernel weight, and test weigh together, can be used safely in bread wheat genotypes.