Emmer 89367 225171387 2008-07-12T07:30:59Z Alan Liefting 36352 Quick-adding category "Poaceae" (using [[WP:HOTCAT|HotCat]]) {{Taxobox | name = Emmer wheat | image = Usdaemmer1.jpg | image_width = 240px | image_caption = Spikes (ears) of cultivated emmer wheat | regnum = [[Plantae]] | divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]] | classis = [[Liliopsida]] | ordo = [[Poales]] | familia = [[Poaceae]] | genus = [[Triticum]] | species = '''''T. dicoccon''''' | binomial = ''Triticum dicoccon'' | binomial_authority = Schrank | synonyms = ''T. dicoccum''<br>''T. turgidum'' subsp. ''dicoccon'' }} '''Emmer wheat''' (''Triticum dicoccon''), also known as '''farro''' especially in Italy, is a low yielding, [[Awn (Botany)|awned]] [[wheat]]. It was one of the [[Neolithic founder crops|first crops domesticated]] in the Near East. It was widely cultivated in the ancient world, but is now a [[relict]] crop in mountainous regions of Europe and Asia. ==Taxonomy== Strong similarities in morphology and genetics show that wild emmer (''Triticum dicoccoides'' <small>Koern.</small>) is the wild ancestor of domesticated emmer (''Triticum dicoccon''). Because wild and domesticated emmer are interfertile with other tetraploid wheats, some taxonomists consider all tetraploid wheats to belong to one species, ''T. turgidum''. Under this scheme, the two forms are recognized at subspecies level, thus ''T. turgidum'' subsp. ''dicoccoides'' and ''T. turgidum'' subsp. ''dicoccon''. Either naming system is equally valid; the latter lays more emphasis on genetic similarities ''For a wider discussion, see [[Wheat#Genetics & Breeding]] and [[Wheat taxonomy]]'' ===Wild emmer=== Wild emmer (''Triticum dicoccoides'') grows wild in the [[fertile crescent]] of the Near East. It is a tetraploid wheat formed by the hybridisation of two diploid wild grasses, [[Triticum urartu]] (closely related to [[einkorn|wild einkorn, ''T. boeoticum'']]), and an as yet unidentified ''[[Aegilops]]'' species related to ''A. searsii'' or ''[[Aegilops speltoides|A. speltoides]]''. [[Image:usdaemmer2.jpg|thumb|100px|left|Spikelets of cultivated emmer wheat.]] ==Morphology== Like [[einkorn]] and [[spelt]] wheats, emmer is a hulled wheat. In other words, it has strong [[glume]]s (husks) that enclose the grains, and a semi-brittle [[rachis]]. On threshing, a hulled wheat spike breaks up into spikelets. These require milling or pounding to release the grains from the glumes. ==History== Wild emmer grains are found at the archaeological site of [[Ohalo II]] in Israel, which have an uncorrected [[radiocarbon dating]] of 17,000 BC, <ref>Zohary & Hopf 2000, p. 46</ref> and at the Pre Pottery Neolithic A ([[PPNA]]) site of Netiv Hagdud (10,000-9400 years ago), also in Israel. Domesticated emmer however does not appear until around 11,500 BC, at the northernmost [[Natufian]] site of [[Abu Hureyra]] in [[Syria]].DNA studies on emmer wheat have shown its place of domestication to be near [[Salinurfa]], in Turkey, so Natufians don't seem to be the original domesticators of emmer. <ref>Zohary & Hopf 2000, p. 46</ref> Emmer wheat and barley were the dominant crops of the ancient Near East, and spread in the Neolithic to Europe and the [[Indian subcontinent]]. In the Near East, in southern Mesopotamia in particular, cultivation of emmer wheat began to decline in the Early Bronze Age, from about 3000 BC, and [[barley]] became the standard cereal crop. This has been related to increased salinization of irrigated alluvial soils, of which barley is more tolerant<ref>Jacobsen & Adams 1958</ref>. Emmer had a special place in [[ancient Egypt]], where it was the only wheat cultivated in Pharaonic times, even though neighbouring countries also cultivated einkorn, [[durum]] and common wheat.<ref>Zohary & Hopf 2000, pp. 50f</ref> In the absence of any obvious [[functional explanation]], this may simply reflect a marked culinary or cultural preference. Emmer and barley were the primary ingedients in ancient Egyptian bread and [[beer]]. In [[Morocco]] DNA results of the cereals at [[Volubilis]] indicates significant occurrence of hulled emmer.<ref>University College London (2005) ''Environmental Archaeology of Volubilis, Morocco''</ref><ref>[http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=14906 C. Michael Hogan, ''Volubilis'', The Megalithic Portal, ed. Andy Burnham (2007)]</ref> Emmer wheat is mentioned in ancient rabbinic literature (as one of the [[matza|five grains]] forbidden to Jews during [[Passover]]). It is often incorrectly translated as [[spelt]] in English translations of the rabbinic literature but spelt did not grow in ancient Israel and emmer was a significant crop until the end of the Iron Age. Likewise, references to emmer in Greek and Latin texts are traditionally translated as "spelt," even though spelt was not common in the Classical world until very late in its history. In northeastern [[Europe]], Emmer (in addition to [[Einkorn]] and barley) was one of the most important cereal species and this importance can be seen to increase from 3400 BC onwards. [[Pliny the Elder]], notes that although emmer was called ''far'' in his time formerly it was called ''adoreum'' (or "glory"), providing an etymology explaining that emmer had been held in glory (''[[Natural History (Pliny)|N.H.]]'' 18.3), and later in the same book he describes its [[mola salsa|role]] in sacrifices. ==Cultivation== Wild wheat seeds (''triticum turgidum'' ssp. ''dicoccoides'') were discovered to self-cultivate by propelling themselves mechanically into soils with their [[awn (botany)|awns]]. During a period of increased humidity during the nighttimes, the seed's awns become erect and draw together, and in the process push the grain into the soil. During the daytime the humidity drops and the awns slacken back again; however fine silica hairs on the awns act as hooks in the soil and prevent the seeds from reversing back out again. During the course of alternating stages of daytime and nighttime humidity, the awns' air powered pumping movements, which resemble a swimming [[frog kick]], will drill the grain as much as an inch or more into the soil.<ref>{{ cite journal | last = Elbaum | first = Rivka | authorlink = | coauthors = Zaltzman, Liron; Burgert, Ingo; Fratzl, Peter | year = 2007 | month = | title = The Role of Wheat Awns in the Seed Dispersal Unit | journal = [[Science (journal)|Science]] | volume = 316 | issue = 5826 | pages = 884&ndash;886 | doi = 10.1126/science.1140097 | url = | accessdate = | quote =| pmid = 17495170 }}</ref> Today emmer is primarily a relict crop in mountainous areas. Its value lies in its ability to give good yields on poor soils, and its resistance to fungal diseases such as stem rust that are prevalent in wet areas. Emmer is grown in Morocco, Spain (Asturias), the Carpathian mountains on the border of the Czech and Slovak republics, Albania, Turkey, Switzerland and Italy. Italy is an interesting case as, uniquely, emmer cultivation is well established and even expanding. In the mountainous Garfagnana area of Tuscany emmer (known as farro) is grown by farmers as an IGP ([[Indicazione Geografica Protetta]]) product, with its geographic identity protected by law. Production is certified by a co-operative body, the Consorzio Produttori Farro della Garfagnana. IGP-certified farro is widely available in health food shops across Europe, and even in some British supermarkets. The demand for Italian farro has led to competition from non-certified farro, grown in lowland areas and often consisting of a different wheat species, spelt (''[[Triticum spelta]]''). ==Food uses== {{SectOR|date=April 2008}} Emmer's main use is as a human food, though it is also used for animal feed. Ethnographic evidence from Turkey and other emmer-growing areas suggests that emmer makes good bread (judged by the taste and texture standards of traditional bread), and this is supported by evidence of its widespread consumption as bread in ancient Egypt. Emmer bread is widely available in Switzerland [http://www.swissinfo.ch/ger/swissinfo.html?siteSect=601&sid=6120540&cKey=1128798224000&ty=st]. In Italy farro is traditionally consumed as whole grains, in soup. Its use for making pasta is a recent response to the health food market; some judge that emmer pasta has an unattractive texture. Emmer wheat is closely related to [[durum wheat]] and common wheat and is therefore unsuitable for sufferers from [[wheat allergy|wheat allergies]] or [[coeliac disease]]. ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==References== *{{cite book|title=Domestication of plants in the Old World|author=Daniel Zohary, Maria Hopf|location=Oxford | publisher=Oxford University Press|id=ISBN 0-19-850356-3|year=2000}} *[http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=54 Hulled Wheats. Promoting the conservation and use of underutilized and neglected crops. 4. Proceedings of the First International Workshop on Hulled Wheats 21-22 July 1995, Castelvecchio Pascoli, Tuscany, Italy][invalid link] *{{cite book | author=Zohary, Michael | year=1982 | title=Plants of the Bible | location=Cambridge | publisher=Cambridge University Press | id=ISBN 0-521-24926-0}} Up-to-date reference to cereals in the Biblical world. *[http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/scihort/ecbot/papers/nesbitt2001wheat.pdf Wheat evolution: integrating archaeological and biological evidence] *[http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1996/V3-156.html Alternative Wheat Cereals as Food Grains: Einkorn, Emmer, Spelt, Kamut, and Triticale] *[http://www.springerlink.com/content/r5v47g7501235x41/] The structure of wild and domesticated emmer wheat populations, gene flow between them, and the site of emmer domestication {{cite article|title=Salt and Silt in Ancient Mesopotamian Agriculture|author=Thorkild Jacobsen, Robert M. Adams|publication=Science 128: 3334|1251-1259|year=1958}} *[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/489449.stm] Oldest domesticated wheat found at Abu Hureyra. *Jacomet, S. 2006. Plant economy of the northern alpine lake dwellings - 3500-2400 cal. BC. Environmental Archaeology 11(1): 65-85 ==See also== {{Wheat}} [[Category:Cereals]] [[Category:Wheat]] [[Category:Underutilized crops]] [[Category:Poaceae]] [[ast:Triticum dicoccoides]] [[da:Emmer]] [[de:Emmer (Getreide)]] [[es:Triticum dicoccum]] [[fr:Amidonnier]] [[it:Triticum dicoccum]] [[ka:แƒแƒกแƒšแƒ˜]] [[la:Far]] [[nl:Emmertarwe]]