Novum wheat, the threshable spelt (Part 2)
Necessity of the paradigm shift dictated by the present and near future
There is only one plant on Earth – the wheat – which already have a general grain classification system established nearly a hundred years ago (United States Grain Standards Act of 1916). That time in Europe, the Hungarian wheat represented similar quality (but not standardized).
Well, the American system is actually unchanged, but the qualification of the Hungarian (and the European) wheat has gone through many changes (which mostly were not for its profit).
Both the American and the European qualification approaching the wheat only from the food industry’s side. Just because, until the end of the 19th century, the wheat only served the bread and paste production. The barley was the main forage and this is why the barley-based danish-swedish forage calculation models started to spread from the beginning of the 20th century.
The ideotype of the hard, red food wheat with high protein content (13-15,50%) has evolved everywhere. (This is not quite true, especially not for the protein content.) All this happened this way because breeding in the 20th century only used hundreds of years old region-styled varieties, and ignored the ancient lines especially the spelt wheat.
The wheat contains and capable of much more than the world knows right now, we just have to search the proper and naturally appeared genetic basics for the utilization goals. The 2007 Hungarian exercise can prove this theory well. Hungary harvested low yield from more than 110 varieties with good quality, but there was no demonstrable difference between the varieties, the soil, the fertilization and the pre-crop; so the adaptation-determining genetic basics are very similar.
The more often used aestivum with its quite tight genetic background, constantly deteriorated in its gumption and in its complex specification. This is the reason, why the FAO/WHO configured crude-protein determining nitrogen multiplier factors were given 5,83 to whole wheat, 6,31 to wheat meal, 5,80 to germ and 5,70 to the endosperm (These conclusions were made back then after amino acid analyses).
Currently – for some kind of mystification – laboratories are still using (revealing less protein) the 5,70 to the wheat as whole grain, but it should refer only to the inner seed.
Besides all this, due to the more and more intensive chemical use, the efficiency of the protein-transformation has reduced from 74-75% to 55-65%, and its biological value (which is determined by the essential – basic need, irreplaceable – rate and amount of the amino acids) is around 70-75 %.
For the goal of exporting to Western Europe, we can consider the „premium” part of the Pannon wheat-program (that means 14% crude-protein, 34% wet gluten and 50 ml Zeleny value) as a changeover, but, the premium quality in the unfavorable years was achieved only in exceptional places, even with the best Hungarian aestivum varieties. Also 120-140 kg/ha Nitrogen (N) substance was needed for this, besides Phosphorus (P)-Potassium (K).
So, the premium could be realized only with high costs, advantageous production site, professional agro-technique and with ordinary weather! That means, for Western Europe, still the American, Russian, Ukrainian, Argentine quality wheat will be the cheaper. To a market like this, and to the special quality, an acceptable price and many thousand tons of quantity have to be associated.
What is the real solution?
The Hungarian wheat production still cannot be market-orientated with ordinary weather, and the export will keep serving the reduction of the inside market surplus.
We should find the most suitable biological basis for the consumption demands of our age. (wheats for bread, paste, biscuit, forage, biomass-bioalcohol etc.)
We need to seek the possibility, that the quality determined by the using purpose, should attached to a variety which represents the same quality. (This is completely different from the reference/standard variety required by UPOV/DUS.) Canada already exercising this system in the food industry from decades=benchmark procedure; its varieties are the well-known Marquis, Glenlea, and the durum Hercules. In the recent years Australia also took over the method (e.g.: Wanton noodle, Udon noodle).
The novum wheat
As it is written above in the evolutional part, the common wheat is a spin-off of some spelt-forms which mutated and become threshable in the ancient times. If the variations were deteriorating for thousands of years, then it would be practical to make the nature to repeat itself.
In the mid 90’s, without crossing, transgenesis and any other synthetic interference, the evolutional progress from the spelt has been restarted by the help of the nature. Plenty of positive signed lines came into existence from spontaneous, point- and macro-mutations. The lot of treshable variations hasn’t been selected this time, so the genetic background is much wider than the genetic root of the aestivum.
On morphological level there were four main groups developed and from these groups the compact-midcompact spiked group has been taken under analysis. (The normal wheat resembles to these the most.) 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.
While the novum is a taxonomically new species, it’s genetic stock as old as the spelt (it has hundreds of years for deterioration) and in its specification at least as effective. Big advantage that it’s threshable, the ripening is two weeks earlier than the public grown spelts, the production is cost saving and the yield is similar to the aestivum.
To calculate the real crude-protein quantity, the 7,90-8,10 multiplier is adequate, which is confirmed by the continuous amino-acid analyses from the past 8-10 years.
The N-multiplier is changing inside the interval by the function of the dry-average-wet years.
The weighted multiplier of the essential amino acids (10pcs) is 7,74 (lysine: 5,21; histidine: 3,70; methionine: 10,65; phenylalanine: 11,90).
The daily minimal essential amino-acid demand for an average person (70-75kg) is 8-10g (besides glutamine), and the protein demand is 40-45g. We are demanding the most from the glutamine – the organism synthetize it from the glutamine-acid. The glutamine is the most important element of the muscle tissues (10g daily demand), so it is necessary for growth, for fattening and for physical work.
The novum wheat is presenting the same glutamine-acid quantity as the soy (5-6%), this is only 3-3,5% in other grains. So the corroborative (strengthening) effect of the novum (and spelts) is not a coincidence. The novum also contains the same quantities of methionine+cystine and leucine+isoleucine as the soy.
One kilogram novum wheat contains the same or more (70-80g) amino-acids as one kilogram lean meat or 15pcs chicken eggs (1 kg), so its high biological efficiency is now also understandable.
The only thing that is not acceptable for the recent demands of the milling industry - but not for the healthy food – is the hardness. Because the existing variety is not hard but mid-soft. It is the most ideal feed-material for monograstic animals.
Using as biomass it can produce the most straw (the rye is taller but it bends everywhere but on sand).
It can be more practical than maize in the production of bioethanol (first cost of starch by the maize is 34-36 HUF/kg, by the novum it’s 28-32 HUF/kg). The DDGS by the maize results 35-40% mycotoxin crude-protein, by the novum the DDGS has 70% protein content.
In case of wet bioethanol production there are no fungus-toxins because of the gluten washing, so the dry-gluten can contain 100% protein so it should be considered as a twin product. The costs can be split between the alcohol and gluten, which resulting the decrease of the production cost of alcohol.
If we compare the main grain crops and meat with the novum wheat, we receive the following indicators (2010 base-price):
The numbers obviously speak for themselves, stock-raising should think about using the novum. For those who have demands for healthy food it’s also worthy to think about the possibility of food industrial use.
Regarding it’s growing it is important to highlight that without nutriment supply, cultivating even in 1-1,20% humus area without direct fertilization, it is showing high quality values:
crude-protein: 19-25% (with 6,25)
wet-gluten: 40-60%
starch: 53-60%
phosphorus: 0,50-0,60%
The main economic and growing technological attributes of the novum wheat, as threshable spelt:
per the usual protein calculation, the protein content exceeds normal wheat with 50-80%,
N-multiplier usually around 8, the other spiked grains are around 5,7-6,25,
the protein-transforming quotient is 90-94%,
wet-gluten content is 35-60%,
the rate of protein components differs from normal wheat, it is closer to human-animal protein-system,
many important amino-acids (lysine, methionine, cystine, threonine, tryptophan, arginine) are 50-150% higher than in the aestivum,
winter- and frost tolerance is excellent,
tillering is better than any aestivum, sot the sowing-norm is lower,
seed-dose is 80-100 kg/ha,
height usually 85-140cm,
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,
intensely reveals the natural nutriment funds from the soil, it can mobilize the dead water which is not utilizable for normal wheat, this also the reason why fertilization is not recommended,
because of the ecological adaptation it tolerates the extreme weather pretty well, the VSP Bácska is specifically fits into the semi-arid climate,
the ripening is early compared to the spelts, and mid-late compared to the aestivums.
To see the Hungarian agriculture breaking out from its crippling chains, and to turn the EU’s agricultural view to its advance, something revolutionary new, better and most primarily cheaper must be represented.
The more fundamental and unclear a new truth is, the more enormous and remarkable exercising possibilities it will have. Such radical changes could be indicated, like in Europe 450 years ago by the maize and potato.
Frigyes Varga
