Adaptations within the Norwegian wheat value chain to improve quality and obtain high quantities for milling in a challenging climate

The project aimed to increase the production of Norwegian milling wheat with stable and good baking quality despite impending climatic challenges by expanding knowledge and adapting strategies within the value chain. Low protein content and unpredictable variations in gluten quality have been challenges for the milling and baking industry in achieving a high proportion of Norwegian wheat in their products, leading to lower self-sufficiency in milling wheat in the last ten years. The project has therefore focused on identifying important factors for gluten quality and protein content. Our hypothesis for variations in gluten quality was that frequent rain hinders the assembly of large glutenin polymers and thus leads to poor gluten quality. The results from the project showed that prolonged or frequent rainfall during grain maturation could cause reduced gluten quality. It has previously been demonstrated that proteases from Fusarium graminearum degrade gluten proteins and lead to poor breadmaking quality. Results from the previous project indicated that this also applies to the Microdochium spp., but this hypothesis needed to be investigated. The project has confirmed that grain infected with the Microdocium nivale can have reduced gluten quality. This negative effect of fungal infection was more significant when plants were subjected to rain during grain maturation. Our results suggest that poor breadmaking quality is caused by a combination of rain and fungal infection, but other factors might contribute. The project provided new insight into how weather conditions and fungal infection affect the breadmaking quality and increased awareness among industry partners. Even though the environmental factors causing poor breadmaking quality are complex and remain unclear, the project has laid the groundwork for further research. We have also investigated strategies to achieve optimal protein content by late and customised nitrogen (N) fertilisation and exploiting the genetic potential to increase protein content. The results showed that N-sensor technology makes it possible to predict yield and protein content at booting/flowering sufficiently. This allows the development of a tool to estimate how much late N fertilisation should be applied to achieve optimal protein content. We have also identified genes (QTL) for high protein content without reducing the yield in Norwegian growth conditions. This work will be continued in the PhD project that will be completed after the end of the project. This is an important milestone for breeding programs to develop new varieties. This knowledge from the project will contribute to more sustainable wheat production through better utilisation of N by using sensor technology and by breeding new varieties with high yield and protein content. The breadmaking quality of Norwegian wheat was analysed (yearly quality analysis) every autumn during the project period. The mills were also involved in characterising the breadmaking quality. The results were discussed with the industry partners, i.e., the whole value chain for milling wheat. The results and discussions have helped the industry plan and ensure a high utilisation of Norwegian wheat. In the last three years (2020-2022), Norwegian milling wheat generally had a high protein content and strong gluten quality. Favorable weather conditions, such as warm and dry weather, and increased production of new varieties with strong gluten quality have led to major changes in the quality of Norwegian wheat. However, this caused a deficit of milling wheat with weaker qualities. The weather conditions have also contributed to a higher protein content than previous seasons. The project has been an important meeting place to discuss how to deal with the new challenges the milling and baking industry is facing today. The project has also collaborated with the Partnership for Cereals and Plant Protein to discuss and find measures for the challenges. The project has contributed to maintaining the collaboration and knowledge exchange between the partners through R&D activities and meetings. Increased knowledge through the project will aid in producing milling wheat with optimal quality and increase the self-sufficiency of milling wheat in Norway. Results from R&D activities were disseminated and discussed with industry partners at annual consortium meetings. The results were also presented at national and international scientific conferences and at open workshops that the project organised in 2022 and 2023. In addition, the results were also communicated through trade journals to relevant target groups, such as the agriculture and food industry and the general public through popular science articles. The results from the project will be finalised into eight scientific articles published as Open Access in international journals. Moreover, results from the PhD activities will be summarised into a doctoral thesis after the end of the proje

Prosjektet har økt kompetansen til forskningspartnerne og styrket samarbeidet mellom forsknings- og industripartnere. Industripartnerne har bygget opp kompetanse gjennom deltagelse i møter og seminarer, tolkning av felles resultater og diskusjoner. Hvilke faktorer som påvirker bakekvaliteten, er komplekse og mekanismene er fortsatt ikke fullt ut forstått. Men resultatene ga oss økt kunnskap om hvilke faktorer (i.e. regn og soppinfeksjon) som påvirker bakekvalitet i mathvete. Verken regn eller soppinfeksjon hadde stor skadelig effekt, men resultatene tyder på at hyppig og langvarig regn eller kombinasjon av soppinfeksjon og regn (fuktige forhold) kan redusere bakekvaliteten. Resultatene ga ny innsikt, samt økt bevissthet i hele verdikjeden om hvilken effekt værforhold og soppinfeksjon har på glutenkvaliteten. Basert på våre resultater er det mulig å identifisere tiltak som verdikjeden, fra bønder til møllere, kan iverksette for å øke muligheten for at kornet som brukes til mat har en tilfredsstillende glutenkvalitet. Identifisert gener for både høy avling og proteininnhold (Grain Protein Deviation, GPD) og glutenstabilitet vil være nyttig både for forskningsfeltet for å identifisere gener og forstår deres funksjoner (mekanismer), og for norsk hveteforedling til å utvikle hvetesorter med økt kvalitet. I tillegg har prosjektet testet en ny hurtigmetode som kan brukes for fenotyping av glutenkvalitet i hveteforedling. Foredlingsprogrammet omhandler et stort antall prøver og hurtigmetoden sikrer effektiv karakterisering av fenotype. Prosjektet viste også at sensorteknologi kan prediktere avling og proteininnhold tidligere i vekstsesongen og optimalisere N bruk. Kunnskapene fra prosjektet vil bidra til mer bærekraftig hveteproduksjon gjennom bedre utnyttelse av N med bruk av sensorteknologi og gjennom foredling av mathvetesort som gir høy avling og proteininnhold. Karakterisering av årets kvalitet for den nye innhøstingen har vært nyttig, og hjulpet mathvetebransjen med planlegging og bidrar til å sikre god utnyttelse av den norske hveten i hver sesong. Prosjektet har skapt en unik møteplass hvor hele mathvetebransjen og forskningsmiljøet samles for å utveksle kunnskap og få vitenskapelig påfyll. Prosjektet ble sett på som lærerikt og nyttig for kunnskapsbygging og fremtidig norsk mathvete produksjon. Potensielt vil mer bærekraftig produksjon av mathvete med optimalt proteininnhold og stabil kvalitet øke selvforsyningsgraden av mathvete i Norge. Det bidrar også til at bønder kan få bedre styringsverktøy inn mot sin produksjon, og dermed både sikre deres livsgrunnlag. Prosjektet bidro også til karriereutvikling for en postdoc og en stipendiat. I tillegg skal prosjektet bidra til økt kunnskap i det vitenskapelige miljøet ved publisering av resultatene fra prosjektet.

The main objective of the project is to develop knowledge needed to produce wheat with good and stable bread-making quality under challenging climatic conditions, thereby securing high self-sufficiency of bread wheat. In the last decade, Norwegian wheat has had lower-than-optimal protein content and unpredictable variations in gluten quality; two factors that represent important bottlenecks for the use of Norwegian wheat in flour blends. To reach the project goal, the following critical R&D questions will be addressed: Do infections by microorganisms and/or precipitation during grain maturation affect assembly or degradation of gluten proteins? Can we develop a screening method for gluten degradation suitable for breeders samples? How do fungal proteases in flour affect the baking process? Can optical spectral sensing be used to improve late-season fertilization to achieve optimal protein content while maintaining high yield? Can high-protein genes be identified in Norwegian wheat to increase utilization of available nitrogen content while maintaining high yield? Is there a genetic basis for biotic and abiotic factors affect gluten protein assembly and degradation? The MATHVETE project will generate new knowledge that will strengthen the competitiveness and cooperation throughout the entire bread wheat value chain from farmers to bakers. Expanded knowledge of environmental factors and genes that cause variation in gluten quality and protein content will 1) provide new strategies for wheat breeding to simultaneously improve protein content and gluten stability, 2) enable targeted measures for farmers to improve grain quality through selection of favorable wheat varieties and improved agronomic practices through efficient use of nitrogen, 3) provide predictable quality for grain deliveries and milling companies and thereby limit the need for import, and 4) supply bakers with stable quality flours based on a high proportion of domestic wheat.