The influence of irrigation on the composition of soluble amino acids in developing wheat grain

Changes in the composition of soluble amino acids were determined in the endosperm of wheat at different stages of maturation grown under different soil moisture conditions. Significant differences were observed in the composition of soluble amino acids during the course of development. With the irrigated crop, the amount of proline decreased during developmental stages but it rapidly increased with development of grain until little beyond the half maturity stage. It then decreased towards maturity in the case of the unirrigated crop. Many soluble amino acids in the endosperm from the unirrigated crop were at lower levels than that in the endosperm from the irrigated crops during early stages of development, but in the later stages the size of the amino acid pool in the endosperm from the unirrigated field exceeded that from the irrigated field. Protein accumulation in the endosperm was also highly influenced by irrigation.