Re-Introduction of Ancient Wheat Cultivars into Organic Agriculture—Emmer and Einkorn Cultivation Experiences under Marginal Conditions

Abstract

Modern agriculture depends on the production of very few crop species, which provide lower nutritive value for consumers. The present work summarizes the results of a three-year experiment on hulled wheat varieties as potential candidates for food system diversification. The organic field cultivation tests with 10 emmer and five einkorn landraces and varieties were conducted on~10m 2 plots on sandy soil, and from 2017, under on-farm conditions in eastern Hungary. Most accessions adapted well to the marginal conditions, with some landraces even yielding higher than registered varieties-over 3 t per ha on average over three years. Compared to emmer, einkorn had higher maximum grain yields, but its yield performance varied more than that of emmer. Grain protein and the total phenolic content were high in both species. Compared to emmer, einkorn seeds exhibited a 3.8 times higher content of bound flavonoids and had 3.4 times higher antioxidant activity. Four einkorn accessions were resistant to leaf spot, as well as yellow and leaf rusts. Fusarium infected both species similarly. Our findings indicate that not only registered varieties of ancient wheat species but also their landraces can provide sustainable alternatives both for organic farmers and also for the diversification of agriculture.

Genotypic Variability on Grain Yield and Grain Nutritional Quality Characteristics of Wheat Grown under Elevated CO2 and High Temperature

“…With regard to the starch concentration, as the main C pool in grains, we did not find differences among the bread wheat genotypes studied, whereas variation in TPhC concentration and TAC was observed, as it was reported in a previous study with six wheat genotypes grown at four different locations [64]. Large genotypic variability in the TPhC has also been observed in earlier reports in wheat [65][66][67], although variation related to environmental conditions seems to be larger than genotypic differences [66]. In comparison between high yielding and low yielding genotypes, genotypes 41 and 43 had the highest concentration of TPhC, whereas genotype 150 had the lowest, suggesting that it may be possible to select genotypes enriched in bioactive compounds with benefits to the health of consumers.…”

Wheat Quality Estimation Using Vision-Based Digital Image Analysis

“…Although modern winter wheat Mv Magdaléna had the best yield (6.1 t/ha) among the studied cultivars, traditional winter wheat Bánkúti1201 and the three einkorns had acceptable yields (from 3.5 to 4.5 t/ha) for organic farming. The grain yields obtained in the present work are in line with the Hungarian study of Bencze et al (2020) where the yields of einkorn landraces were around 3 t/ha. In other European countries (e.g.…”

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

“…Despite their long cultivation history, today they are grown only locally on small areas [7]. Although the ancient wheat species have lower grain yields [8], they continue to attract growing interest because of their tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses such as diseases [9,10], drought [11], and soil nutrient shortage [12]. At the same time, the consumption of ancient wheat species has been linked to the health benefits, partly attributed to the exceptionally high content of certain phytochemicals, especially phenolic acids [13][14][15].…”