A High-Efficiency Cultivation Pattern of Strong-Gluten Wheat in Huang-Huai-Hai Plain of China

Different cultivation methods significantly affect wheat quality. However, the optimal cultivation pattern for strong-gluten wheat in Shandong province remains unclear. Through field experiments conducted over three consecutive wheat-growing seasons, wheat-quality-related traits under traditional cultivation practices (TC) and different cultivation patterns for Jimai44 (a strong-gluten wheat variety) were investigated. Plowing, delayed sowing date and increasing seeding rate could enhance grain protein content, SDS sedimentation value, wet and dry gluten content, and also had a clear positive effect on thousand-kernel weight and test weight. Employing a protocol of increased basal nitrogen (300 kg/ha) and topdressing water and fertilizer twice significantly increased wheat grain protein and nitrogen content, flour yield, gluten index, SDS sedimentation value, dough stability time, and extensibility. On the basis of the two wheat seasons experiments, we developed an optimized cultivation practice (Opt, that is, combined with plowing, delayed sowing date, seeding rate of 3.15 million or 3.60 million, basal nitrogen fertilizer application of 300 kg/ha, topdressing fertilizer twice, topdressing water twice or three times). Compared with TC treatment, the optimized cultivation demonstrated superior performance in grain protein content, flour yield, SDS sedimentation value, wet and dry gluten content, stability time, formation time, extension area, extension, and maximum retensibility with high grain yield. Meanwhile, we found that the expression of TaGlu1 was significantly increased under the optimized cultivation practice. In summary, the optimized cultivation practice might be a promising approach for improving strong-gluten wheat quality in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain.