Performance and Nutritional Properties of Einkorn, Emmer and Rivet Wheat in Response to Different Rotational Position and Soil Tillage

Abstract

Einkorn, emmer, and rivet are three species of wheat that have largely been neglected in modern agriculture. There is a revived interest in these species as potentially successful alternatives to mainstream wheat in organic and low-input cropping systems and as sources of highly nutritious food. However, the availability of literature studies concerning rotational positions and soil tillage management is still scarce. The aim of this study was to explore the field (cover, disease resistance, yield) and quality performance (protein, fats, fiber, polyphenols, flavonoids, and antioxidant activity) of these species when organically grown in the United Kingdom. As part of the H2020 DIVERSIFOOD project, different cultivars of each species, including landraces, populations, old varieties, and where available, commercial varieties, were included in the experiment. Rotational position and tillage systems significantly affected the main agronomic performance of the minor cereals investigated, suggesting that low fertility and shallow-non-inversion tillage might be suitable options to manage tall species. Emmer showed the highest incidence of foliar diseases, whereas einkorn and rivet wheat appeared quasi-immune to the main fungal diseases (stripe rust, septoria). In addition, nutritional and nutraceutical investigation showed that the rotational position and soil management also affect metabolic pathways differently by species and within species, by genotype. Our results suggest a good potential to introduce these species in sustainable cropping systems. Furthermore, the interesting species and cultivar-by-management interactions observed can pave the way for future, better focused, research on these underutilized and underexplored species.

Effects of Tillage System and Cultivation Year on Secondary Metabolites and Antioxidant Capacity of Durum Wheat under Rainfed Conditions

“…In agreement to our results, Costanzo et al [36] found that tillage system had no significant effect on antioxidants capacity of wheat. In contrast, many results reported that antioxidants capacity depends on many factors such environment, genotype, management practices and their interactions, in addition to the applied test and the extraction solvents [37][38].…”

The Effect of Species and Cultivation Year on Phenolic Acids Content in Ancient Wheat

“…Wheat is a rich source of phenolic acids [16] but its content might be strongly affected by climatic conditions, agronomic management, and plant genetic traits [35,36]. In this study, concentration of phenolic acids (PAs) in three wheat species (einkorn: T. monococcum L., emmer: T. dicoccon Schrank, spelt: T. spelta L.) grown under organic management during three subsequent cultivation years was evaluated and compared.…”

“…It was shown a significant correlation between the content of bioactive components and environmental factors, such as precipitation and temperature [42]. Also, crop rotation and tillage can possibly affect the polyphenol and flavonoid contents differently depending on the plant species [36]. The effect of drought stress was previously reported to have a stimulating effect on the content of total polyphenols in fresh leaf samples of eight modern wheat genotypes [43].…”

Arbuscular mycorrhizae inoculation of einkorn wheat affects fatty acid, nutrient and mineral concentrations

“…In a variety of studies (e.g. Şanal, 2018;Costanzo et al, 2019;Abdel-Aal & Hucl, 2014), the fat content or EE of einkorn wheat was found to vary between 1.8% and 4.4%. This variation might stem from the differences in analytical methods, places of cultivation, and country, and whether it was the main or the second crop.…”