Distribución de la calidad del trigo pan argentino utilizando mapas del sistema de información geográfica

At present, wheat demand requires specific quality and industrial performance. Buyers are not only interested in protein content but also in protein quality. To evaluate the industrial aptitude, laboratory tests must be run to define wheat quality. In this way, the needs of the wheat chain can be satisfied. Millers and bakers want to know where to buy the suitable wheat to elaborate a certain product. Most of the literature on this topic shows graphs and tables of all wheat subregions that are difficult to understand due to the numerous details and data to be analyzed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the distribution of commercial and industrial quality in theArgentine wheat area through a Geographic Information System that can handle large databases referenced spatially and to see them in maps. During three crops, five quality parameters were compared with the media of ten years. According to the results, the test weight had its highest values in 2007 in the reference range between 81.26 - 85.00 kg/hl, in the sub-regions I, IISouth, VN and VSouth. In the media of ten years, most of tested samples had test weight in the range 77.51 to 81.25 kg/hl, reaching easily to Grade 2 or higher of the Argentine Marketing Standard of wheat. The protein content was variable between years and zones, presenting higher values, between 12.0 and 12.9%, in the I, IINorth, VNorth and V South Subregion. The P/L ratio was optimum between 0.76 -1.50. Average of 10 years of the alveograph W values, were fairly homogeneous throughout the wheat area, with W between 241 and 323 Joules x10-4, appropriate for baking, which could be considered very good ones for commodities, not classified wheat. Throughout the argentine wheat area, subregion IV had the higher values of farinograph stability (between 16.0 and 25.9 minutes, average of 10 years), the rest of subregions considered in this study were between 10.0 and 15.9 minutes with some focused areas with 16.0 to 20.9 minutes.The Geographic Information System (SIG) proved to be an useful and efficient solution for updating maps and data ordaining, helping to simplify the interpretation of results.