Data for the mansucript: "<b>Phenological adaptation of wheat varieties to rising temperatures: implications for yield components and grain quality</b>"

Experimental conditions and Plant materialReplicated trials with ten wheat varieties, two irrigation regimes and two sowing dates were executed in the Lleida region, Spain, spanning the 2020–2021 (designated as the first year, 2021) and 2021–2022 (designated as the second year, 2022) growing seasons (Table 1). Trials were sown at 400 seeds m-2 rates with plot size of 8 m x 1.2 m. In the initial year, experimentation occurred in Almacelles (coordinates: 41°43′54″ N, 0°25′24″ E, elevation: 221 m), while in the subsequent year, it was conducted in Sucs (coordinates: 41°41′41″ N, 0°25′35″ E, elevation: 284 m). These sites are situated near Lleida with approximately 4 km apart and share a typical Mediterranean climate, characterized by an average annual rainfall of mm and an annual reference potential evapotranspiration of 1074 mm. In the first year, precipitation and potential evapotranspiration amounted to 364 mm and 1043 mm, respectively, whereas in the second year, they totaled 271 mm and 1105 mm, respectively, across both locations. All trials were optimally fertilized, and diseases and pests controlled with locally approved pesticides. These replicated trials were conducted using experimental micro-plots (8 m x 1.2 m). Ten distinct commercial varieties were cultivated, deliberately chosen for their contrasting phenotypic traits in phenology. All ten commercial varieties of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) underwent evaluation under two distinct irrigation regimes: (i) 100% crop evapotranspiration (ETc), involving irrigation applied at a rate equivalent to one hundred percent of the ETc throughout the growing season, and (ii) rainfed, where no irrigation was administered. Irrigation scheduling for both years was determined using a water balance model. ETc was computed as the product of the reference potential evapotranspiration (ETo), calculated using the Penman–Monteith method [23] and the crop coefficients (Kc) approach, derived from FAO-56, and adjusted based on prevailing weather conditions before being utilized for ETc computations. Sprinklers were installed in the 100% ETc irrigation treatment at an 18 × 18 m grid spacing, with a water flow discharge rate of 7.8 L/h/m2. Irrigation was scheduled on a weekly basis using a lateral Rainger sprinkler system. Additionally, a set of 26 field trials conducted between 2018 and 2023 was used to validate the results obtained from the initial set of ten varieties, irrigation treatments, and sowing dates above. This additional set of field trials included a network of post-registration variety testing trials in Spain (https://extensius.cat/xarxes-de-varietats/) to provide farmers with annual information on the most adapted varieties of various arable crops. These trials evaluate approximately 20-38 new wheat varieties annually against established benchmark check varieties ("Artur Nick" for spring wheat and "Nogal" for winter wheat) widely cultivated in the region. The replicated trials were conducted using experimental micro-plots (8 m × 1.2 m) located in the most representative production areas across different agroclimatic zones, including Solsona, Artesa de Segre, Olius, and Lleida (Sucs). These areas are characterized by a Mediterranean climate, with hot summers and mild winters. Furthermore, a set of 22 widely grown European wheat varieties was used for validation, grown under the same conditions as the main experimental trials of ten varieties but with only one sowing date. Additionally, two collections of 147 and 158 traditional Mediterranean wheat landraces and commonly grown Mediterranean wheat varieties were used for validation. These trials followed a non-replicated augmented design with two replicated checks (cv. "Anza" and "Soissons") at a ratio of 1:4 between checks and tested genotypes, in 3.6 m² plots with eight rows spaced 0.15 m apart. All these validation trials were optimally fertilized, and diseases and pests controlled with locally approved pesticides.Agronomic traits and wheat grain quality parametersFor each variety and trial, agronomic and baking quality traits were collected and measured: days to heading (DH) as the number of days from the sowing date to when 50% of the spikes have emerged on 50% of all stems; days to maturity (DM) as the number of days from the sowing date to when 50% of the peduncles are yellow colored on 50% of all stems; grain filling duration (GF) as the number of days which occurred between DH and DM (calculated by subtracting DH from DM); grain yield (GY in ton ha-1) at 13% of humidity was determined by machine harvesting the whole plot; hectoliter weight (HLW in kg/hl) was determined by weighing a 550 ml volume of grains; thousand kernel weight (TKW in g/1000 kernels) was measured using three random samples of 200 whole grains each, with all aborted and broken grains removed; the number of grains m-2 (NG) was calculated using the grain yield (GY) and the TKW; protein content (P %) by using NIR machine (InfratecTM 1241 Grain Analyzer) using minimum 400 g of grains; sedimentation test sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS in ml) as indicated by Pena et al. [26]. Evaluation of quality and flour rheology was carried out using Chopin alveograph following the instructions provided by the manufacturer (http://www.kpmanalytics.com/brands/chopin-technologies, accessed on 15 May 2024) to assess dough strength (W in 10-4 J), tenacity (P in mm), extensibility (L in mm) and tenacity/extensibility (P/L) ratio. Weather parameters Weather variables, such as minimum (Tmin), average (TA) and maximum (TM) temperatures (in °C, degree Celsius), precipitation (PP in mm), solar radiation (SR in MJ m-2) and potential evapotranspiration (ETo in mm) were also analyzed. Meteorological data were collected from an automated weather station located 3 km and 5 km from the Almacelles and Sucs study sites, respectively. This weather station forms part of the official Catalonian network of meteorological stations (SMC, http://www.ruralcat.net/web/guest/agrometeo, accessed on 1 August 2023). Total water availability (TOT W) was determined by adding the precipitation in millimeters to the water supplied through irrigation for irrigated trials. For rainfed trials TOT W equaled the precipitation in millimeters alone. Subsequently, averages and cumulative values were separately computed for the vegetative and grain filling stages to assess the relative exposure to these weather variables during the two different phases of plant cycle in each wheat variety. This process involved the following methods: averaged values (for temperature variables) were derived, for the vegetative stage, by dividing the sum of daily measurements from sowing to heading date by the number of days in this period (days to heading); for the grain filling stage, the sum of daily measurements from heading to maturity date was divided by the number of days in this period (grain filling duration). Cumulative values (for PP, SR, ETo and TOT W) were calculated by summing the daily measurements for each specified period. Consequently, all these newly calculated variables were designated by adding “V” for those calculated during the vegetative stage and “GF” for those calculated during the grain filling stage. <br>