Crops

Triticum turgidum Desf. - Poulard wheat

Taxonomic position.

Family Poaceae Barnhart, genus Triticum L.

Synonyms.

T. sativum turgidum Hack., T. durum subsp. turgidium (L.) V. Dorof., T. dicoccum convar. turgidium (L.) Mandy

Morphology and biology.

Strong plant with moderate bushiness (3-5 stems per plant). Culm long (120-180 cm), mostly hollow, rarely solid, but with small open space in the center; has 6-7 internodes and large nodes. Leaves pubescent, having small, velvety hairs; rarely glabrous. Leaf blade 20-34 cm in length, 1.0-1.5 cm in width. Auricles often ciliate. Ear simple or branchy, 15 cm in length, 1.5 in cm width, drooping, heavy (up to 70 caryopses). Ear includes 19-33 spikelets consisting of 5-7 flowers (developed 5 caryopses). Rachis is strong, its segments pubescent. Barb with setas up to 1 mm in length occurs at the base of spikelets. Spikelet glumes comparatively short (8-11 mm), puffy, asymmetrical, with 5-7 veins. Carina is wide, sharply defined. Carinal tooth is short, acerate. Lemma is roundish, gibbous, longer than glume. Aristas 8-20 cm in length, thick, rough. Each flower protected by bicarinate inner palea and aristate lemma, which is bigger. Aristas are long, exceeding the ear in length, scabrous or glabrous, slightly divergent or parallel. Seeds are short (5.5-9.0 mm in length), 3.0-4.1 mm in width, roundish or oval, farinaceous. Weight of 1000 seeds is 35-45 g. Most widespread varieties include Donskoi yantar. and Novinka 4.

Distribution.

Probably descended from T. durum. Seeds were found in Neolithic sites in Switzerland and Georgia, as well as in Egyptian pyramids. In Italy, it has been cultivated since the middle of the 2nd millennium B.C. It arrived in Siberia from Kazakhstan, in European Russia from Transcaucasia or Central Asia, and was cultivated there beginning in the 19th century. Within the former USSR, it is cultivated in Transcaucasia, Dagestan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.

Ecology.

Wheat of seaside climate. Demands heat. Hydrophilous plant. Somewhat resistant to drought. Better winter crop than durum wheat. Late-ripening. Vegetative period lasts 236-299 days. Resistant to brown mildew and brand.

Economical values.

Seeds contain 12.5-17.0% protein, 58.0-66.2% starch, and 1.6-2.2% ash. Winter forms are rich in protein. Not good for baking. Productivity in 3.5-3.6 (up to 9.2) tons per hectare.

Literature cited.

Buyukli P.I. 1983. Winter durum wheat. Kishinev: Shiintsa, 223 p.
Dorofeev V.F., Korovina O.N., eds. 1979. Cultural flora of the USSR. Vol. 1. Wheat. Leningrad: Kolos, 348 p.
http://www.gossort.com/xrcts/xrct_1.html#8602581

© N.V. Terekhina