Cultivated einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum L. subsp. monococcum): the long life of a founder crop of agriculture

Geographic differentiation of domesticated einkorn wheat and possible Neolithic migration routes

“…Probably because of einkorn's yield inferiority, the use of this wheat diminished after the Copper Age (Zaharieva and Monneveux, 2014) and this plant survived as a forgotten crop on marginal land throughout Europe, the Near East and Maghreb. At the end of the twentieth century, scattered einkorn populations were recorded in Turkey, the Balkans, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Spain and Morocco (Perrino et al, 1996).…”

Harvest index is a critical factor influencing the grain yield of diverse wheat species under rain-fed conditions in the Mediterranean zone of southeastern Turkey and northern Syria

“…Wheat can adapt to a wide range of growing conditions, from temperate and irrigated to dry and high-rainfall areas and from warm and humid to dry and cold environments (Curtis, 2002); thus, the production area has expanded from subtropical to high-altitude regions more than 3000 m above sea level (Percival, 1921). Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (n = 42) accounts for approximately 95% of the wheat grown worldwide, with most of the remainder being durum wheat (T. durum) (n = 28) (Peng et al, 2011); other types of wheat, such as emmer (T. emmer) (n = 28) and einkorn (T. monococcum) (n = 14), are only cultivated in limited areas in the Middle East and the Mediterranean (Stallknecht et al, 1996;Zaharieva & Monneveux, 2014). Although emmer and einkorn wheat are currently only minor crops, they are potentially important as resources to genetically improve bread wheat under environmental stresses (Zaharieva & Monneveux, 2014).…”

“…Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (n = 42) accounts for approximately 95% of the wheat grown worldwide, with most of the remainder being durum wheat (T. durum) (n = 28) (Peng et al, 2011); other types of wheat, such as emmer (T. emmer) (n = 28) and einkorn (T. monococcum) (n = 14), are only cultivated in limited areas in the Middle East and the Mediterranean (Stallknecht et al, 1996;Zaharieva & Monneveux, 2014). Although emmer and einkorn wheat are currently only minor crops, they are potentially important as resources to genetically improve bread wheat under environmental stresses (Zaharieva & Monneveux, 2014). In addition, the demand from consumers, bakers, and farmers for hulled emmer and einkorn wheat has recently increased due to the rediscovery of their use as food (Longin et al, 2016).…”

Growth and Development of Triticum Monococcum L., Triticum Dicoccum Sch. and Triticum Spelta L. in Organic Farming Conditions

“…Grains of wild einkorn wheat, preserved from the Epipaleolithic times in the area of the Middle East and in the area of Balkans were found during archeological excavations. Due to aromatic flavour, fibers, protein, vitamins, antioxidants contained in the grains, the nutritional values of Triticum monococcum significantly surpasses those of other wheat types (Ahmad et al, 2013;Hidalgo and Brandolini, 2014;Bojnanska and Francakova, 2002;Zaharieva et al, 2014 ).…”