δH of wheat and soil water in different growth stages and their application potentialities as fingerprints of geographical origin.

The study aims to investigate whether stable hydrogen isotopic ratio (δH) in wheat and soil water can be used as the fingerprint for geographical origin of wheat. Wheat was planted in three different regions in China across two years. The δH values were determined for soil water in three growth periods, and rainwater, groundwater, and defatted wheat in the maturity stage. The δH values both in soil water and defatted wheat showed significant differences among different regions and the changing trend of δH value in wheat was consistent with that in soil water and rainwater, but different from that in groundwater. The δH values in soil water in the depth of 0-20cm in the maturity stage were positively correlated to the δH values of defatted wheat (y=0.205x-52.628, r=0.645) and could be used as the potential indicator for tracing wheat geographical origin.