Thousand faces of the wheat - Nil novum sub sole (Part 2)
My breeding strategy has undertaken exactly these difficulties. Not to degrade the accustomed conseption, but I looked for complex answer to the issues above. Thus, I realized that from the perspectives of economy, public food, public healthcare, the wheat’s (as the most important crop of mankind) main measures of value are:
frugality
quality
yield safety
productivity.
1. Frugality. Growing of a variety can be determined frugal if it can provide at least 15% income (without supports) in every year with competent cultivation.
2. Quality. It always can be defined depending on the utilization trend: there is no way that one or two optimal wheat varieties (ideotype) are able to satisfy our recent complicated demands. Thus:
a) food material: it is still depending on protein content worldwide (whether the gluten is hard or soft). This goal has its importance because half of the mankind is underfed and 20% is expressly starving. But in the richer, western world, the folloing demands have evolved: breadwheats, bread and pasta wheats, pastawheats, biscuit and waferwheats, crumbwheats. The availability of varieties especially for these purposes are low-keyed.
b) feed material: incorrect and harmful approach which claims that what is not good for food (because the gluten is low or soft) it is good for feed. The optimal wheat for this purpose has a 1:5 nutriment-rate. Such wheat is needed which protein content is 18-20%, so it can provide enough protein and has adequate amount of energy. Currently only the novum can provide that.
c) industrial material:
→For biomass, high (130-150cm), but solid-stemmed wheat can be used, which is good for briquette and biogas too. In the first case, the kernel can be food or feed type.
→For bioalcohol, 110-115cm height, very low protein content (6-8%) (it does not exist) is suitable.
→For bioalcohol and industrial protein, a different alcohol-production technology is needed, buti this is the most perspective method. Wheat with 110-120cm height, and with very high protein content (22-26%). In this case two twin-products can be made: alcohol and gluten. The gluten can be used dry or for amino-acid extraction. Drying is simplier than the traditional DDGS extraction. The first cost of alcohol will be much lower than extracting from maize (shared cost on final products), the straw can be used traditionally or for heating.
3. Yield safety. To achieve this purpose, the development of a variety tolerant to unfavourable environmental factors (frost, drought, water pressure, salt, soda, pathogens, pests etc.) must be the goal. The resistance-breeding is overgone because pathogens are changing, and what seems resistant today may turn into sensitive tomorrow. Extensive ecological adaptation has to be achieved.
4. Productivity. The quantitative approach is not enough – though it still seems to be the standard – because it may be at the expense of frugality. Instead, such optimal productivity should be the goal which assures 4-5t/ha yield with minimal input. The goal is the realization of the highest income with reasonable and the lowest cost only (american examples).
None of the current wheat species are good for the complex treatment of these measures of values. The spelt, a phenotype from the T. spelta, was closest to the quality of classic definition. Based upon my qualifications and intuition, I choose the spelt hoping that I can temper it into a cultural form (what nobody has done before). In other words, to make it threshable, with more flexible ears and with earlier ripening without crossing, genetic-engineering, induced mutation and other artificial intervention. The question was: how?
I have made a hypothesis! The common wheat is nothing else but some widespread threshable lines of the spelt which was mutated thousand of years ago. The neolithic man did the selection and the spread. Those threshable variations have fallen back in specification to the current level during thousands of years. Their genetic background was infinitesimal compared to all spelts.
In the meantime, if there was – because there was - new mutation among the spelts, the subsequent generations have ignored it. Since the spelt form descending dominantly and the mutations can only be noticed with proper observation and searching. To the modern age, due to the difficult handling methods, the spelt growing has been strongly fallen back. Who could have noticed these changes?
This assumption was followed by verification. I tried to make nature to repeat what she has done 10-12 thousand years ago. With success.
In my oppinion, I followed such methods which may resembled to the old conditions and circumstances. My experience was that many of my initial spelt materials started to split in different levels and proportions. Spontaneous point and macromutations have made influence and I noticed them. Many non-threshable variations remained unselected – I have kept them all, while the neolithic man kept only the easily threshables in hand – so, my genetic background is much wider than the genetic background of the current aestivums.
I rated the primary progenies into four main groups:
unthreshables, which kept the spelt-nature,
half-spelts, with hard hull, but threshables
transitionals (nor spelt, nor compact) and threshables
compacts, mid-compacts.
From these four groups three are not spelt nor common wheat.
With scientific appellation, the spelt has diversificated and with this new evolutional step speciations happened.
Thus far two lines from the compact, midcompact group have been pulled out and have been finalized with individual selection, So this is how the officially new species, the Triticum speltivum Var., the novum wheat came into existence. Currently there is only one nationally listed variety which is the patent-protected VSP Bácska. Since then, the lines have been shaping, augmenting. Currently I have more than a thousand threshable variations, but the selection hasn’t been finished yet.
To develop proper and sufficient number of species from each – even in corporate form – may take hundreds of years. Only those are eligible to be taken into cultivation which are good for the demands of given age.
The evolved threshable, various earshaped variations with wide genetic backgroud, high protein content (18-28%), better yield and lower prime cost are showing an enermous variability.
From the aspect of ripening time, there are variations similar to barley, but there are variations which bloom in June. There are 80cm, but also 160 cm high variations. There are types which are just-threshables, but some types simply just spill out the kernel. Regarding their protein content, the weakest ones are around 16-18%, the average are around 19-23% and the highest ones are above 24%. (Protein calucation is usual.)
The main economic and production-technological features of novum, the threshable spelt:
per the usual protein calculation, the protein content exceeds common wheat with 50-80%,
N-multiplier is generally 8, while others are 5,7-6,25,
protein-transforming quotient is 90-94%,
wet gluten content is 40-60%,
proportion of protein components differs from the common wheat, it is closer to the human-animal protein-system,
winter- and frost tolerance is excellent,
tillering is better than any aestivum, so the seed-dose is less,
many important amino-acids (lysine, methionine, cystine, threonine, tryptophan, arginine) are 50-150% higher than in the aestivum,
sowing-demand is 80-100 kg/ha,
height: 110-125cm,
despite the height, the stem-strength only problematic when the vegetation is too bushy, the distribution is unfavorable or fertilizer was used,
quite good disease-reaction; no need for dressed-seeds regarding tilletia and stem rust, tolerant to powdery-mildew, low sensitivity to wheat leaf rust pending on the year, there is no 100% crop protection for fusarium it is only influenced by year, soil preparation and agrotechniqe,
intensively reveals the natural nutrient stocks of the soil; it can mobilize the deadwater which is not utilizable for the common wheat, this also the reason why fertilization is not recommended,
because of the ecological adaptation it tolerates the extreme weather pretty well, the mentioned varieties are specifically fit into the semi-arid climate,
within the T. spelta species the ripening time is early, comparing to the aestivums it is mid-late.
Advantages and disadvantages of the novum
Advantages:
a) human-healthcare: functional food material - it contains almost everything that is needful for the organism, healthy food with strengthening effect,
b) economic
- agricultural, farmer (cheaper, better, less demands)
- food industrial, industrial-processing, (vairous utilization)
- chance to take out the protein-import,
- external market expansion coming to the front.
Disadvantages (it comes from the advantage):
a) because of the many positive features it’s hard to believe for those who are exercising the regular farming. Not just one or two features are better, but entirely.
b) at the beginning of the production it needs precise and consistent technological discipline (soil-preparation, almost precision sowing).
Today, the consolidated food and feed processing industry feels threatened, but many more can participate in the new verticum than in the current.
The only one currently existing variety of the novum wheat, besides the very high protein content, has soft gluten structure, therefore hardly satisfies the demands of the Hungarian milling industry. But it satisfies the demands of healthy food, so its role in the human food can be significant as organic food, with spelt-like bakery process. But, for stock-raising it is the only existing feed in which the nutrient is approaching the optimal level.
According to years of experiences, the variety from the new species has been treated by the conventional farming (obsolete paradigm) – like common wheat – so the inherent potential was only exploited partially. Many farmers did not keep to the most important parts of the technology. In these cases, the protein content was like the aestivums produced with the best technology. In the possession of these informations, a wheat-ideotype for the requirements of the common farmer, and the milling-, baking industry had to be created.
This wheat is the king wheat.
It’s a completely new species, basically a hybrid. It’s a crossed progeny of the spelt and the dicoccum (Or emmer. The durum was also bred from this). The wide and very wide genetic background united in it. The vitality (vigor), robustness, high protein content of the spelt has united with the hardness, gluten-flexibility and drought tolerance of the emmer. (The emmer was the most typical wheat in the ancient Egypt and Babylon.) In breeding, the heterosis means that some parental characteristics could turn out more powerfully in the progenies. Regarding the king wheat’s most lines, this manifests itself in the extraordinary kernel-size and test weight (Hl weight). These attributes resulted the species name. Because per the kernel-size, it is the king of wheats among species, there is no bigger and heavier wheat species than this.
The main economical and production technological features of the new species:
protein content exceeds the common wheat with 25-50% according to traditional calculation (eggless dry pasta making!),
the rate of protein-creating amino acids differs from common wheat,
important amino acids are higher with 30-50% (histidin) but some differs to positive way with 100-250%,
N-multiplier is 7,90-8,30, while comon wheat’s 5,70-6,25,
protein absorption coefficient is around 95%,
wet gluten content is approx. 32-45%, spreading is 0-3,50 mm/h (optimal cooking features for pasta),
substantially thinner peel results higher milling yield,
because of the firm inner grain, in the interest of making dried pasta, more sleet can be gained with appropriate milling technology,
yellow-pigment content is high – generally exceeds durum’s – significant aspect for pasta making (4,20-7,0 mg/kg),
1000 kernel weight and test weight is extremely conspicuous (TKW: 54-75g, test weight: 81-86kg),
despite of the big grains, seed-dose is only 110-160 kg/ha, because…,
tillering is generally 1,5-3,5 ears(spikes)/tiller,
sowing depth is deeper than aestivum’s; 6,50-7,50 cm,
winter and frost tolerance is varying; therefore the lifeform of varieties can be winter, transitional or spring,
height is diverse (80-140cm); stem strenght is good-very good, in the case of taller varieties, the only problem can be as the effect of the undue root distribution or fertilization,
as the solution for nutrient supply only organic manure under the pre-sowing is recommendable; or the bacterium maunring can be basic manure, amended by canopy manuring, because,
intensively reveals natural nutrient stocks of the soil (it does not like the fertilized, chemically treated (dead) soil); it can mobilize deadwater which is not utilizable for the common wheat; canopy’s retention and root’s absorption is better, therefore…,
it tolerates extreme weather conditions well due to its ecological adaptation (especially drought), several varieties fit specifically into the semi-arid climate,
disease-reactions differ in point of the characteristics of varieties,
ripening generally from the earlies to mid-mid-late.
King wheat, thus, combines the necessary parameters for making dried dough, but it’s good for making the highest level raised dough. The following features characterize the first listed variety of the species:
A2-A1 bakery industrial features (per hungarian standard),
protein content: 14-18%,
wet gluten: 32-38%,
spreading: 1,50-3,5 mm/h,
falling number. 300-450 mp,
gluten index:95-98%,
absorption 92-95%,
flour yield above 80%,
test weight 82-84 kg,
1000 kernel weight: 61-65g,
alveograph W-value: 300-350,
extensograph resistance (BU): 430-480,
typically special, culinary-enjoyable flavour,
complex use (bread, dried paste etc.),
Several other genetic lines of the species are still the subject of analyses regarding their usage. Several decades needed, but:
some of them are spelte-like, with hard-hull and shape,
some of them have ligher, amber-color and shape similarly to durum,
some of them have very compact ears, as the representatives of compactum species.
Besides of all, the human and economy-political importance of the king wheat corresponds with the novum wheat; differences manifest in protein quantity and bakery industrial quality. While the current variety of the novum seems to be a typical feed-material, the existing variety of the king wheat completely fits into the present bakery- and pastry-industrial technologies.
The following table reviews the paradigm of the Hungarian and Western-European wheat-growing exercise and wheat-use, and compares the statements with the genetic basics of the novum and king wheat:
Summarizing everything:
As Andor Bálint in the 1960s said, the basis of variety breeding is the selection and propagation of positive spontaneous mutants. We can add classic crossing within genus to that. The statement has been perfectly demonstrated in the early third Millennium.
There is no need for genetically-engineered crops in the food chain (their harmful effects have been proven after 8-10 years of cultivation), only new (=old) breeding view must be used.
It has been proven that spelta is not what it has thought to be; namely not all spelta is splelt, but also not all spelt is spelta.
The common wheat is nothing else but some threshable lines of the spelt which was mutated.thousands of years ago, and widespread with human help, but has deteriorated during many decades,
In nature, creatures are constantly changing. This mostly happens during thousand of years, sometimes, with speeded evolution, only a capable eye is needed to notice it.
Statement can be made: the evolved novum and king wheats are much more suitable for the aspects of public food and public healthcare than the current aestivums. They might become the alternative participants in the developing green energy program.
Starting from Hungary – as in the old times – new-type growing-processing product paths and integrations can be built. It could mean the real progression for the rural population, for agri-industrial economy and through them for the entire country as well. Because there is no hope for a country where the banker, economist and jurisitc professions have the highest appreciation.
In the middle of the 1970s it was visioned that after 2000 the Hungarian agriculture will be revalueated. The slight amount of our minerals are keep on sinking, so the heads and hands of the population remain just as our renewable land area, if the following generations will show good stewardship towards it.
Frigyes Varga
grain-researcher, breeder
