Low temperature winters (absolute minimum temperature down to -8.0ºC, in frosty days) prevail in the southern Brazilian wheat cropping area. However, the incidence of high temperature (absolute maximum temperature, up to 41.0ºC, in some days in october and november) can ocurr throughout the grain filling period and during physiological maturation. This work aimed to verify the influence of minimum and maximum temperatures in the industrial quality and grain yield of wheat. Data of EMBRAPA 16 wheat, obtained during the 1990-98 period, in seven locations of the State of Rio Grande do Sul and in four locations of Santa Catarina were used. Statistical analysis performed was multiple correlations. It was verified that, in the different analyzed periods: a) the increase of the mean maximum temperature resulted in increment of thousand kernel weight, grain yield, gluten strength, sodium dodecyl sulphate microsedimentation test, and falling number: b) test weight (except for the final period of physiological maturation), thousand kernel weight, falling number, and milling quality were influenced negatively by the mean minimum temperature; c) the mean minimum temperature influenced positively gluten strength, P/L relation, and the sodium dodecyl sulphate microsedimentation test.
test weight; thousand kernel weight; milling quality; alveography; sedimentation; falling number
