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Released and pre-released bread wheat varieties evaluated in national wheat programme of India (503 genotypes) during 2005-14 under different environments were examined for the role of physiological parameters in grain quality. Genotypes with slow plant height growth but faster rate of grain filling enhanced protein content. Plants where growth in height and grain development was slow, grains were hard, provided proportionate vegetative growth phase is longer. Steady grain growth rate benefited gluten strength and gluten quality. Irrespective of total crop duration, longer reproductive phase was an effective indicator of higher flour recovery and test weight. Magnitude and significance of morphological attributes in grain quality was almost similar to that of physiological processes, therefore prospects of utilizing these field traits were examined to enhance grain properties. Early heading and longer grain filling was effective to increase test weight whereas delayed heading and shorter plant height enhanced protein content. Bold grains hampered grain hardness and delayed heading added more bran in the flour. Genotypes with poor grain bearing and quick grain ripening had lower sedimentation value. Instead of protein, it was wet gluten which expressed negative association with yield. To improvise gluten quality, extended reproductive phase but with less grain weight was helpful. Contribution of longer post-anthesis period was observed crucial in flour recovery. These useful simple field expressions can be deployed to uplift quality of wheat grains.

Frequency of high yielding bread wheat genotypes with 5+10 and 2+12 banding patterns at Glu D1 locus was observed in 558 bread wheat entries evaluated during 2003-13 in national wheat programme of India under different agro-climatic conditions. Frequency of 2+12 type wheats was much higher in the stressed environments suggesting preponderance of this category wheat under global warming. It could lower strength and quality of gluten but wet gluten per unit protein might improve, consequently, bread quality might decline. Chapati and biscuit qualities, protein content and flour yield might remain unaffected. More variations in end-products, flour recovery, protein and gluten contents and grain hardness are anticipated but variability in sedimentation volume and gluten index might squeeze. Shift in the route to product quality and flour yield is suggested under elevated temperature conditions with need to devise selection criteria for identifying product superior varieties of 2+12 category wheats.