Meteorological and soil conditions and their impacts on the productivity and quality of wheat grains

Abstract

The relations between climate, soil, grain quality, and productivity constitute a complex approach since the relationships are cumulative and each change, even if minimal, can result in a new response. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to evaluate these relations in two years of wheat cultivation. The experiment was performed on a rural property in Céu Azul, PR, Brazil, with soil chemical sampling at 33 random points on 15 hectares, in addition to collecting data from 11 meteorological stations distributed according to management zones in the respective area. Grain yield and quality characteristics (protein content and hectoliter weight) were evaluated, with the data submitted to descriptive analysis and Spearman correlation. Appropriately, it was observed that in the first harvest, there was the occurrence of frosts at the end of the booting stage, resulting in a decrease in wheat quality and productivity. Moreover, the soil conditions of the first harvest were lower than those of the second, identifying the soil nutrients that influenced the productivity of each of the harvests. Finally, it was concluded that the climatic variation from one year to another is capable of influencing the productivity of wheat plants, as well as directly affecting soil conditions.