The Cereal Cage - 2006
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A selection of species of wheat that are, or were,
cultivated in different parts of the world are being grown in the
cereal cage during 2006. Four of the species are tetraploid
wheats and the remaining six are hexaploid
species.
The majority are "free-threshing" but three of the wheats,
notably Vavilovi and Macha Wheats and Spelt, retain the hard shell
or 'hull' of the early wheat species and make the extraction of the
grain a more difficult task. |
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Tetraploid Wheats (28 chromosomes)
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Hexaploid Wheats (42 chromosomes)
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Persian
WheatA
flexible stemmed wheat inclined to fall over.
Grown in some parts of Turkey, Iraq and Iran.
Triticum carthlicum
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Oriental
WheatGrown
in parts of the Middle East and Central
Asia. Narrow hairy leaves, often has black awns.
Tricum turanicum
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Vavilovi
WheatA
rare spelt-type wheat grown in Armenia. The
spikes are unusual as they are often branched.
Triticum vavilovi
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Macha
WheatA
rather variable spelt-type wheat discovered in
1929 growing in West Georgia and the Caucasus.
Triticum macha
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Spelt
or DinkelA
tall wheat with hard shelled grain, not threshing
free. Small quantities are now grown for health
products, especially in Germany.
Triticum spelta
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Polish
WheatA
tall wheat originally from the Mediterranean
area and preferring a warm climate. Spikes
with long papery bracts and long seeds.
Triticum polonicum
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Rivet
or Cone WheatMainly
grown in Spain, Southern France and Italy.
Similar to a poor quality Durum wheat and
unsuitable for baking purposes.
Triticum turgidum
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Indian
Shot WheatA
wheat with short stiff stems and small, almost
round grains. Grown in Northwest India and Iran.
Triticum sphaerococcum
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Club
WheatA
wheat with compact spikes and small grains.
Grown in Abysinia and Turkestan and parts of
Austria and Switzerland.
Triticum compactum
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Bread
WheatThe
most common wheat, grown in most parts of
the temperate world, including Britain. The yield
of grain is higher than from the other wheats.
Triticum aestivum
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In the past, many of these different species of wheat were more
commonly cultivated, although often restricted to limited areas, such
as the Vavilovi Wheat of Armenia. Although not being grown at the
Mill this year, the most common tetraploid wheat is Macaroni
Wheat, Triticum durum, used for the production
of many pasta products.
Photographs of the cage show the growing plants with seed spikes in
early July and ripened plants in August.
Bread Wheat, Triticum aestivum, is now the
most widely cultivated wheat in the world, grown in most temperate
regions. Over a period of many years, newer varieties have been developed
that have a greater yield than many of the older traditionally grown
wheat species. This has led to a replacement of the traditional species
by bread wheat in some parts of the world, with a subsequent loss
of the older types from cultivation. The loss of species diversity
may mean that useful characteristics, such as fungal resistance or
reduced plant height, of these older wheats could be lost to wheat
scientists. Seed banks, such as those held by the John
Innes Centre, are therefore important for maintaining reserves
of these species for possible use in future wheat breeding programs.
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