Maataloustieteellinen Aikakauskirja
Vol. 60: 281—291, 1988

Targets in the breeding of spring wheat

TAPIO JUUTI

Hankkija Plant Breeding Institute
SF-04300 Hyrylä, Finland

Abstract. Growing conditions in Finland determine the earliness, protein content and relia-
bility of the falling number as the targets for breeding spring wheat. It has not been possible
to increase the earliness of spring wheat varieties from that of the local varieties cultivated
before breeded varieties. On the other hand, breeding has improved the earliness to yielding
capacity ratio successfully, and the ratio will be improved further in the near future. The declining
trend of the average protein content in the spring wheat yields, which has caused problems
in the last decade, now seems to have been corrected. The breeding material includes cultivars
with a high protein content and a better ratio of protein content to yielding capacity than the
varieties now cultivated. As far as the falling number is concerned, some upcoming cultivars
are better adaptable to the Finnish growing conditions than the present varieties.

Index words; Spring wheat, earliness, protein content, protein quality, resistance to sprouting in the ear.

Introduction

The geographical location of Finland
presents special challenges for spring wheat
cultivation, as wheat is the latest spring grain
grown in Finland (Mukula et ai. 1977).

The speed of plant development is affected
by climatic conditions, determined by means
of the effective temperature sum in the place
of cultivation. This sum is obtained from the
mean day degrees by adding up thoseportions
of each day’s mean temperature that exceed
+ 5°C. In southern Finland, where growing
conditions are more favourable, the effective
temperature sum is, on average, 1,300°C. As

the spring wheat varieties grown in Finland re-
quire an effective temperature sum of I,loo—

counted from the beginning of the
growing season, in order to yellow-ripen, the
temperature conditions are often critical for
spring wheat (Rantanen 1987). In some
years, even the late Scandinavian varieties
have not been able to ripen, the ripening of
the Finnish medium-late Ruso variety occur-
ring in late autumn (Fig. 1). If ripening is post-
poned to late autumn, when temperatures are
low, the result is often a considerable reduc-
tion in quantity and deterioration in quality
of the spring wheat yields.

In addition to temperature during the grow-

281

JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE IN FINLAND

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ing season, heavy rainfall constitutes a risk for
spring wheat cultivation. Most of the rainfall
during the growing season usually occurs be-
tween the time of ear emergency and harvest-
ing, in August-September (Fig. 2). Moist con-
ditions decrease the yield of spring wheat and
diminishe its quality. This lower utilization
value is primarily due to sprouting in the ear,
but also to moulds (Mukula et ai. 1977).

According to Grotenfelt (1922), spring
wheat was cultivated in the southernmost
parts of Finland as early as in the 14th and
15th centuries. Its cultivation remained,
however, insignificant until the 19305, at
which time the areas of cultivation started to
increase rapidly. According to Pesola (1950),
this growth was due to the release of Svalof’s
Diamant (Diamond) variety, to the grinding
protection of domestic wheat, and to summers
the weather conditions of which favoured
spring wheat. From 1931 to 1941, the area un-
der spring wheat increased from 21,900 to

117,100 hectares (Kivi 1969). This area was
the greatest in 1962, covering 261,000 hec-
tares, or 9.7 % of the total arable area. In re-
cent years, the cultivated area has varied be-
tween 90,000 and 150,000 hectares. The aim
of wheat cultivation today is self-sufficiency,
which has been estimated to require 200,000
hectares of cultivated land (Anon. 1987), the
share of spring wheat being 65 to 80 %.

Early breeding activity

According to Sauli (1916), the breeding of
spring wheat in Finland was based on actual
native wheat varieties grown in eastern Fin-
land in the 19th century. They were extreme-
ly early cultivars able to have ripened as far
north as Lapland. Their seeds were very small,
14—20 g/1,000 seeds. Furthermore, they had
slender straw and low yields. Breeding was
also based on some spring wheat varieties cul-
tivated at the turn of the century. Their coun-

Fig. I. The growing time and effective temperature sum requirements of Ruso, from the date of sowing to yellow
ripeness, at the Hankkija Plant Breeding Institute (60.42°N, 25.03°E) in 1962—1987.

282



tries of origin were known then, and Sauli
did not regard them as genuine local wheats.
The earliest variety, which also most closely
resembled the local wheats, was the Siberian
spring wheat, which had become grown widely
in eastern Finland. On the contrary, the Sip-
pola wheat cultivated on the Karelian Isthmus
and originating in Flolland and the Canadian
spring wheat varieties, grown in western Fin-
land, ripened later, but were high-yielding and
stiff-strawed (Kivi 1969). The same applied
to two Swedish spring wheat varieties, Kolben
and Helmi (Pärl) (Sauli 1916).

In the early stages, breeding consisted of
selection from landrace populations and from
mixed spring wheats which had spread to Fin-
land at the turn of the century. As early as in
the first half of the 1910s, crossings were start-
ed in order to establish a basis for selection.
They were carried out with early domestic
wheats and imported varieties, such as the
Canadian Marquis and the Australian Aurore

(Multamäki and Kaseva 1987). Domestic
cultivars have aimed at earliness and other
characteristics required in the northern fringe
areas of spring wheat cultivation. Foreign
wheat varieties have been sources of yielding
ability, straw characteristics, quality and dis-
ease resistance, previously to yellow rust (Pe-
sola 1927) and nowadays mainly against
powdery mildew {Erysiphe graminis, Laiti-
nen 1980) and the glume blotch of wheat
(Septoria nodorum, Karjalainen 1985). In
addition to crossbreeding, mutation breeding
has been carried out to a minor extent (Kivi
and Flovinen 1976).

Present breeding process

The method of selection in spring wheat
breeding is the same as the partial population
method applied by Bjaanes (1951) in Norway
(Fig. 3). According to this method, descen-
dants of individuals selected in the F 2 gener-

Fig. 2. Precipitation at the Hankkija Plant Breeding Institute in June, July, August, and September 1962—1987

283



ation are selected in the F 3 and F 4 genera-
tions for earliness, disease resistance and straw
characteristics. The selection criterias in the
F 4 and F s generations are yield, protein con-
tent and quality, grinding characteristics and
falling number.

The second individual selection is carried
out in the F 5 generation, after which selec-
tion is continued on the same grounds as in
F 3 —F s . From the Fg generation onwards
selection is also carried out on the basis of
gluten quantity and quality, and mixograph
and moist chamber tests on falling number.
Similarily, the laboratory tests on Septoria in-
fection and the tests carried out in the field
with the best lines of the main test are started
in F s . In order to investigate the final baking
quality, test bakings are started at the main
trial stage. Using the partial population
method selection on the basis of yielding relia-
bility and yield quality characteristics can be
performed in earlier generations than when
the pedigree method is used, therefore without
loosing the possibility of carrying out effec-
tive selection for disease resistance and earli-
ness.

Earliness

Throughout the breeding of spring wheat,
earliness has been emphasized as a characteris-
tic of the spring wheat grown in Finland
(Sauli 1920, Grotenfelt 1922, Pesola 1950,
Pesola and Honkavaara 1952, Juuti 1985).
As a cool period prevailed in the early decades
of breeding spring wheat, the importance of
earliness as a target for breeding was empha-
sized in the very early stages (Kivi 1969).
Despite this emphasis on earliness, however,
the release of new spring wheat varieties has
usually led to the observation that they ripen
later than the old landrace.

Almost without exception, Finnish varieties
have been earlier than foreign wheats grown
in Finland. In the 19205, three Finnish varie-
ties had been released, the Ruskea, Tammi
and Pika, all Hankkija varieties. Of these,
Pika was the earliest, being almost as early as
the earliest local varieties. Pika was 4—5 days
earlier than Ruskea, 2—3 days earlier than the
Canadian Garnet, the Swedish Rubin and Di-
amant and B—lo8 —10 days earlier than the Aus-
tralian Aurore (Sauli 1930). Sopu, Hopea,
Tammi and Pika 11, which were released in
the 19305, were all 4—7 days earlier than the
then predominant Diamant, but later than
Pika (Pesola 1950). Although these varieties
were earlier than Diamant and more resistant
to lodging, they were not able to replace
Diamant as the predominant variety. The rea-
sons were Diamant’s yielding ability and the
favourable weather conditions in the 19305.

Of the results of breeding for earliness, only
the Apu variety, released in 1949 (Pesola and
Honkavaara 1952), has accounted for a
noticeable share of the area under spring
wheat. Apu was almost one week earlier than
Diamant, and was replacing Diamant as the
predominant variety (Teittinen and Kivi
1977). On the contrary, Hankkijan Ulla,

released in 1975 (Hovinen and Varis 1975),
did not become important in the cultivation
of spring wheat, although it was only one day
later than Apu and had stiff straw and excel-
lent baking qualities.

Fig. 3. Breeding scheme.

284



One problem encountered in the breeding
of early spring wheats in Finland has been the
small seed size and weak straw of the local
wheats used as sources of earliness and of the
cultivars bred from them. Another problem
has been to shorten the growing timeof spring
wheat without causing the yielding ability to
suffer.

In 1967, the Ruso variety was released. The
ratio of its moderateearliness to yielding abil-
ity and its straw stiffness were extremely
favourable as compared to other varieties of
that time. Ruso became the predominant var-
iety in the first half of the 19705, maintaining
it to recent years (Teittinen and Km 1977,
Juuti 1985). Ruso has had the same growing
time, 10 % higher yielding ability and clearly
stiffer straw than Diamant (Kivi 1970).
Although breaking the negative interdepen-
dency of growing time and yielding ability is
problematic, efforts at the Hankkija Plant

Breeding Institute have been successful as far
as Ruso is concerned (Fig. 4). The breeding
material contains spectra that are clearly bet-
ter yielding than Ruso and somewhat earlier.
On the contrary, it does not seem to be easy
to breed varieties that would be one week
earlier than Ruso, while having at least the
same yielding ability. In the future, breeding
for earliness will be hampered by the fact that
the rejection of early local spring wheats in
the favourable temperature conditions of the
1930 s caused the loss of the genes for extreme
earliness (Kivi 1963).

Protein characteristics

In the very early stages of breeding spring
wheat, special attention was not paid to qual-
ity, though the issue was a familiar one. Earli-
ness was emphasized as the factor affecting
quality in order that spring wheat would have

Fig. 4. Dependency of the productivity of spring wheat cultivars on the growing time, as a pair comparison with
Ruso, in the Hankkija Plant Breeding Institute’s tests performed in 1976—1986.

285



time to ripen and the factors contributing to
quality would have time to develop fully. It
was not until in the 1930 s that purposeful
research into spring wheat quality and breed-
ing to improve it started at Finnish plant
breeding institutes. The research into and
breeding of quality aimed then at the protein
content of different varieties and concerned
both the quantity and the characteristics of the
protein (Pesola and Veijola 1954).

As the object of wheat cultivation in Fin-
land today is self-sufficiency, and as spring
wheat accounts for about 80 % of the culti-
vated area under wheat, the quality of the
spring wheat yield is of central importance to
self-sufficiency. In the Finnish growing con-
ditions, the protein content of spring wheat
has become very important from the point of
view of utilization value, because the annual
variations of the protein content are great
(Fig. 5). In some years the national mean of
the protein content has been too low from the
point of view of utilization value. Problems
have also been caused over the last ten years
by the declining trend in the protein content
of spring wheat. Variations in protein content
may be due to variety, growing place, culti-
vation technique and weather conditions dur-
ing the growing period (Pesola and Veijola

1954, Jahn-Deerbach 1981, Juuti 1985). Ac-
cording to Salovaara (1986), one reason for
the declining trend in the protein content of
spring wheat is the cultivation in Finland of
high-yielding and late, especially foreign, var-
ieties. The drop of the protein content below
the level critical from the point of view of bak-
ing can be prevented not only by cultivation
techniques but also by the breeding of varie-
ties with a higher protein content.

Right from thebeginning, crossing method
has been applied to the breeding of spring
wheat to raise quality. At first, varieties in
which the quality genes seemed to be good
were used in crossings. Such cultivars were
found in Russian, Australian and North
American, especially Canadian, spring
wheats. For instance, the Canadian Marquis
wheat, world-renown for its quality charac-

teristics, had been used in basic crossings. The
Hopea and Sopu wheats of the Agricultural
Research Centre, which can be considered the
result of Finnish quality breeding (Pesola
and Veijola 1954), originate in these cross-
ings. The Hankkija Plant Breeding Institute’s
spring wheat varieties of Tammi and Kimmo
represent the same line. Kimmo is a selection
from the Russian Pissarev population, and
Tammi’s genotype incorporates the Canadian
Mclntosh (Huttunen 1946). In addition to
quality characteristics, efforts were also made
to transfer rust resistance from these continen-
tal type spring wheats to domestic cultivars.

In recent decades quality breeding and, as
its integral component of increasing the pro-
tein content, has been largely based on domes-
tic varieties that are the result of such quality
breeding. This work has resulted in the varie-
ties of Ruso, Tähti, Hankkijan Ulla, Hank-
kijan Tapio and Luja being cultivated at
present (Multamäki and Kaseva 1987). Ac-
cording to official Finnish variety tests, the
protein content of Ruso is 0.6 percentage units
higher than that of the Swedish Kadett grown
in Finland, the respective percentage units for
Tähti being 1.3, for Hankkijan Tapio 0.3, for
Hankkijan Ulla 2.5, and for Luja 1.2
(Mustonen et ai. 1987). The fact that the

Fig. 5. Trend of the protein content of the spring wheat
yield in Finland (cereal sampling).

286



Glu-1 quality value, indicating the composi-
tion of the sub-units of the large-molecule
glutenin of bread wheat, is high, being 8 on
average, is also largely based on this quality
breeding. The value is higher than that of the
British and German spring wheat varieties and
the same as that of the Australian wheat
(Sontag et al. 1986).

Nowadays, foreign cultivars that propagate
earliness, high protein content, reliability of
falling number, and yielding ability are select-
ed to become cross parents. Combination of
high protein content and good yielding abili-
ty in the same cultivar has constituted a
problem in breeding for protein content.
There is a negative interdependency between
yielding ability and protein content. It seems,
however, that efforts to break the interdepen-
dency have been successful in the newest
breeding material. Genotype combinations
have been found in which the ratio of yield-

ing ability to protein content is better than in
the varieties now cultivated in Finland (Fig. 6).

Reliability at harvest

The utilization value of spring wheat can be
decisively reduced in Finland by seeds sprout-
ing in ear before harvest. Sprouting impairs
the baking and technical characteristics of
spring wheat. Degraded starch is unable to
bind water while baking, and therefore the in-
ner structure of the bread breaks up and the
volume remains small. Falling number tests
are used to estimate damages caused by
sprouting (Lallukka 1971). The great annual
variations in falling number in Finland (Fig. 7)
are most affected by weather conditions.
Weather conditions preceding ripening have
been found to affect the falling number, the
depth and length of the dormancy of seed, and
the readiness for sprouting in ear (Lallukka

Fig. 6. Dependency of the protein content ofspring wheat cultivars on productivity, as a pair comparison with Ru
so, in the Hankkija Plant Breeding Institute’s tests performed in 1976—1986.

287



1971). Wheather conditions and lodging also
affect the extent of sprouting in ear, where-
fore the breeding of cultivars able to avoid
sprouting in ear is combined withbreeding for
stiffness of straw (Kivi 1969).

As the sensitivity to sprouting in ear and the
falling number characteristics are largely de-
pendent on variety (Kivi 1969, Lallukka
1971), it is possible, by means of breeding, to

reduce annual variations in the falling num-
ber of spring wheat yields. The aim has been
a variety in which the time lag from a setting
and drying stage of the seed which allows to
combine threshing to the stage where the fall-
ing number starts to drop is as long as possi-
ble. The harvesting season for such a variety
would be long. Sprouting seeds in moist sand
was the first test method applied to find a
genotype combination meeting this goal.
Later, the moist chamber method was adopted
(Kivi 1969).

The temperature in the moist chamber is
+ 14—I-16°C, the relative air humidity
100 %. Sample bunches of 30 ears are taken
4—5 days after yellow ripeness. Four bunches
of ears are taken from each cultivar. One
bunch is dried immediately for use as a con-
trol. Three bunches are put into the moist
chamber. The bunches are removed from the
chamber after 3, 5 and 7 days. After drying,
the ears are threshed and ground, and their
falling numbers are determined. The figures

reveal what happened to the falling numbers
of the grains in arelative humidity of 100 ®7o.
These investigations have proved that the
Finnish spring wheat varieties do not contain
very good hereditary factors which prevent
sprouting in ear (Kivi 1969). Tammi and
Touko of the older varieties and Tähti and Ta-
pio of the newer varieties have proved to be
somewhat more reliable as far as falling num-
ber is concerned (Kivi 1969, Strand 1970,
Lallukka 1971, Juuri 1985). The problem in
breeding has been that, in a worldwide per-
spective, only in Northern Europe, in the mar-
itime areas of Central Europe and in Britain
is breeding for resistance to sprouting in ear
of major importance in breeding for quality
(Kivi 1969). It seems that it is possible to find
cultivars, British ones in particular, which
when crossed with Finnish wheats propagate
resistance for sprouting in ear. The moist
chamber test results also indicate that geno-
type combinations adaptable to Finnish con-
ditions and possessing a clearly higher
resistance to sprouting in ear will soon be
found (Table 1).

Background of the present breeding material

In order that the breeding of spring wheat
would proceed in the targets determined by
cultivating conditions, variation, not only in
domestic material but also extensively in
materials of foreign plant breeding institutes
and gene banks, has been sought the last two
decades. As far as breeding for earliness is
concerned, it seems that efforts to find for-
eign wheats that would be earlier than Finnish
material have not been successful, and the
earliest new cultivars are derived from crosses
having a domestic cultivar as at least one party
(Fig. 8). Their genotypes, in turn, have includ-
ed Pika, Tammi and Garnet, or a population
of Pissarev.

Good protein characteristics seem to have
been propagated best by domestic cultivars,
which, in turn, have included genotypes of
foreign quality wheats, such as Pissarev’s
population, Kärn, Selkirk, Aurore and Gar-

Fig. 7. Variations in the falling number of spring wheat
in Finland according to the State Granary’s bread
cereal sampling in 1971 —1982.

288



net. Domestic cultivars have promoted efforts
to breed a type which preserves its falling
number for a long time in wet harvesting con-
ditions. The best cultivars from this point of

view have been selected from the cross popu-
lations RPB 9-68 (GB)/Hja b736 and Hja
b736/Hja R 360L.

Many foreign cultivars have been applied

Table 1. The moist chamber figures of falling numbers for the breeding material of spring wheat, as a pair com-
parison with Ruso, in the Hankkija Plant Breeding Institute’s tests performed in 1982—1986.

Cultivar n Growing Falling number, after keeping
time in moist chamber

0357days

Ruso 9 102 199 123 64 62
Tähti 9 +6 +36 +26 +5 +1
Kadett 8 +3 —4 +ll +lB —2
Hjan Tapio 8 +2 +1 +4O +37 +4
Luja 5 —1 +4B +2O +l2 +0
Hja 23456 3 +2 + 146 +lB6 +llB +76
Hja 23361 4 +3 + 136 +65 +6B +35
Hja 23447 2 +2 + 155 +llO +134 +6l
Hja 23329 4 —1 +lOO +lB4 +l7l +43
Hja 23471 3 —3 +167 +245 +123 +25

Fig. 8. Background of the present breeding material used in the Hankkija Plant Breeding Institute’s targets.

289



in breeding for resistance to powdery mildew
and Septoria. The genotypes of the cultivars
which have got the farthest in the selections
have included Kadett, Runar, Reno, Kolibri,
or Halle 13471. The cultivars Galanda,

C. 1.12463,.12463, Kadett, and Hja2llB2 have been
used because infections and the droplet tests
have proved them to be the varieties which
most effectively resist Septoria in Finnish con-
ditions.

References

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teamietintö 1987, 33: I—2lB. Helsinki.

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Ms received 1988

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8

SELOSTUS

Kevätvehnän jalostustavoitteiden
painopisteet

Tapio Juuti
Hankkijan kasvinjalosluslailos
04300 Hyrylä

Kasvuolomme määräävät kevätvehnänjalostukscn pai-
nopistealueiksi aikaisuuden, valkuaissisällön ja sakolu-
kuvarmuuden. Aikaisuutta ei ole kyetty lisäämään siitä,
mitä se oli ennen jalostettujen lajikkeiden viljelyyn tuloa
viljellyillä maatiaiskevätvehnillä. Sen sijaan kevätvehnän
aikaisuus-satoisuus suhdetta on pystytty jalostuksenku-
luessa parantamaan jase on lähitulevaisuudessa vielä pa-
ranemassa. Viime vuosina huolta aiheuttanut kevätveh-

näsadon valkuaispitoisuuden laskeva suunta näyttää kor-
jaantuvan, sillä jalostusaineistoissa on jalosteita, joitten
valkuaispitoisuus on korkea ja valkuaispitoisuus-satoisuus
suhde parempi kuin nykyisin viljeltävillä jalosteilla. Myös
sakolukuominaisuuksiltaan Suomen oloihin nykyisiä la-
jikkeita paremmin sopeutuvia jalosteita näyttää olevan
näköpiirissä.

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