A dataset of Agronomic Biofortification and Seeding rate - by - Location effects on Grain Mineral concentration, End-use quality and Agro-phenological traits of Durum wheat Genotypes

Improving durum wheat end-use quality traits such as protein and gluten content becomes the principal research focus area, due to the increase in market demand and premium price paid for durum wheat producing farmers. The success is, however, limited because of crop genetic bottleneck, factors from growing environments and crop agronomic management practices. A study was conducted to i) identify an optimum seeding rate for durum wheat genotypes that can improve grain yield and grain quality and ii) to evaluate the effect of agronomic biofortification on grain protein, gluten contents, Zeleny index, and grain mineral content. Zinc and Iron containing fertilizers were applied foliarily in the form of ZnSO₄.7H(2)O and FeSO₄.7H(2)O. The data presented in this dataset article included yield and yield related traits, phenological and grain quality traits as well as grain Zn and Fe contents. The grain mineral content was measured by using atomic absorption photometer. A machine Minfra Smart T® wheat grain analyzer was used to measure grain protein content, gluten content, and Zeleny index values for each sample. The collected data were analyzed using GenStat (14th ed.) statistical software package. The aim of this dataset article is make the data publicly available to enable further extended analyses and as a guide for further research works to improve the productivity of smallholder durum wheat producing farmers.