Effects of urea application at different growth stages on some quality traits of 'yakamoz' bread wheat cultivar

Laboratory studies, which field trial was conducted in the 2020-2021 growth season at the Eastern Mediterranean Agricultural Research Institute, were carried out at Gümüşhane University. In the study, it was determined that urea used as top fertilizer in different growth stages of 'Yakamoz' bread wheat cultivar used as material, and the effects of urea application periods and flour type on the quality traits such as dry matter, ash, protein, acidity, fresh and dry gluten, gluten index, sedimentation, and falling number were investigated. For this purpose, in addition to the control application, tillering, stem elongation, milky and dough stages were chosen as urea application periods. Laboratory studies were carried out in randomized plots according to the split plot design with three replications. In the study, all quality traits showed statistically significant differences for urea application periods; these values were ranged as follows: Dry matter: 90.20-90.77%, ash: 1.037-1.213%, protein: 14.01-15.15%, acidity: 0.037-0.056%, wet gluten: 41.49-43.67%, dry gluten: 14.75%-15.46, gluten index: 69.28-80.38%, sedimentation: 20.0-21.0 mL, late sedimentation: 23.5-29.8 mL and falling number: 753.8-881.7 s. In addition, other quality parameters except dry matter, protein and sedimentation changed statistically for flour type. Accordingly, whole wheat flour for ash (1.443%), acidity (0.051%) and gluten index (82.53%); white flour showed high values for wet (44.90%) and dry (15.96%) gluten, late sedimentation (35.60 mL) and falling number (836.4 s). As a result, while applying urea as a top fertilizer; it is recommended to choose stem elongation stage for high gluten index, delayed sedimentation and protein, and the dough maturity stage for high dry matter. Moreover, it would be appropriate to represent more genotypes and different nitrogen sources in future studies for being more inclusive.