Responses of wheat yield, quality and bread-making properties on the sulphur fertilization

This study presents a versatile influence of sulphur (S) application on winter wheat - beginning with the influence on the grain yield and primary quality indices, followed by the one on the bread-making properties of flour and dough, and ending with the one on the quality indices of baked products. Field experiments were conducted at two locations on haplic Luvisol and calcaric Cambisol during five years. S was given as NS-fertilizers on the background of N100 during wheat tillering. Flour and dough properties for bread-making were determined by using a farinograph Brabender. The baking tests were carried out in laboratory conditions. The influence of S on the grain yield and quality, and bread-making properties of wheat depended on the year and location. As the average of field experiments conducted at two locations, the application of S significantly increased the grain yield (r=0.960). The increasing yields were accompanied by decreasing contents of wet gluten (r=0.825). However, the significant positive (r=0.938) effect of the S application on the Gluten index was revealed, which is a good predictor of the baking quality of wheat flour. The S addition by nitrogen fertilization resulted also in a positive shift of the N:S ratio in grains, which is better for the bread-making quality. The significant positive effects of the S application on the dough stability time (r=0.898) and on the farinograph quality number (r=0.917) were demonstrated. The loaf volume was significantly (r=0.842) increasing under the influence of S. Thus, the application of S in parallel with increasing yields improved several bread-making parameters of wheat.