Alternative Cereals Flashcards
How can plants of use for us be categorized?
Cereals and Pseudocereals
Grain legumes
Tuber crops
Oilseeds
Industrial crops
Fiber crops
Medicinal palnts and stimulants
Fruits, veggies
Alt. Cropping Systems
True Cereals versus Pseudocereals
A cereal is any of the edible components of the grain of cultivated grass, composed of the endosperm, germ and bran. True cereals are (mostly) grasses, whereas pseudocereals are non-grasses but used in much the same way as cereals
p. 19
Examples of cereals
Wheat
Barley
Rye
Rice
Oats
Examples of Pseudocereals
Quinoa
Amaranth
Buckwheat
Triticum wild and cultivated forms
See page 7 + 8
Advantages of alternative cereals
Einkorn, Emmer, Spelt
- higher general resistance to diseases than common cereals
- lower effect of fertilizers compared to common cereals
- well suitable for organic production
- high dietary and health quality of the processed products
- organic + healthy = good market chances as niche products
Durum wheat
- choice for hot / dry summer areas and semolina (‘Griess’)
Emmer, Spelt, Triticale
- alternative sources to feed cattle
Einkorn
- “Suitable for celiac patients”
Wild - Einkorn
Triticum boeticum
Genome:
diploid, AA
2n = 14
Kultur-Einkorn
Triticum monococcum
Genom:
diploid, AA, 2n = 14
Wild-Emmer
Triticum dicoccoides
Genom:
tetraploid, AA BB, 2n = 28
Kultur-Emmer
Triticum dicoccum
weisser Emmer
blauer Emmer
Spelt / Dinkel
Tritcum aestivum sp. spelta
Genome similar to bread wheat
2n 0 6x = 42, AABBDD Genome
Thousand kernel wight TKW ~40g (grain weight 40 mg; like wheat)
Spike rachis breaks, husks (Spelzen) fixed
Winter spelt usually without awns (Grannen); summer spelt with awns
Long straw, plants are much higher than wheat plants, small harvest index, spikes often more slender than in wheat
More intense tillering, but strong reduction towards harvest
Triticale
Triticosecale spp.
Important forage cereal; when created the aim was to produce bread
1888 Rimpau (D) did first bastardisation of wheat and rye (hexaploid)
1968 first cultivars registered; main production today in poland and china
Advantages and disadvantages of perennial cereals
Putative (mutmasslich, vermeintlich) advantages:
- optimized resource use efficiency
- minimized soil erosion
- increase in carbon capture and storage below ground
Disadvantages:
- Optimizing these systems will take a long time (3 years generation time)
- More difficult to control diseases
Thinopyrum intermedium
Pros and cons
Intermediate wheatgrass, perennial
Pros:
- perennial
- prevents erosion
Cons:
- low yield
- How to treat plant diseases if they come up?
Definition of Pseudocereal
Dictyledonous plant that can be used (and traded) as a cereal - Seeds can be ground to flour and contain lots of carbohydrates
Amaranth
Family: Amaranthaceae
Several dozen species, e.g. Amaranthus caudatus
C4 plant
Short-day plant
2m tall
Seeds tiny (TKW 0.6 g)
History of Amaranth
Ancient crop originating in the Americas
largest acreage grown during peak of Aztec civilization in Mexico in 1400’s
Was important during religious ceremonies, in which men were sacrificed and was hence banned by conquistadors
Since 1800, grain amaranth has been cultivated again in scattered locations, including Mexico, Central America, India, Nepal, China and Eastern Africa
Products and Production of Amaranth
Grains rich in protein (high Lysine content) % fat
Grain yield of A. caudatus 1-4t/ha
Leafy vegetable (like spinach)
Forage crop (Fodder: 10t/ha dry mass)
Ornamental plant or weed (A. retroflexus or A. albus)
Requires fine seedbed; soil temp. at least 18 °C
Row width 75 cm; 30 plants / m2
Slow early vegetative growth (weed problems)
Drought tolerant; 200 mm rain/a for good yield
Responds well to high light and temperatures
harvesting after frost and some days dry wather (flowers until frost; otherwise plant too moist in our latitudes)
Seeds need to be dried to less than 11% moisture
Chenopodium quinoa
Pros and Cons
Pro:
- Valuable proteins
- cold tolerant (high altitudes)
Cons:
- no gluten (no bread)
- small seeded (difficult for automated sowing
Quinoa - more details
Family Chenopodiaceae; 45 - 200 cm high
Native to the Mountains of Bolivia, Chile, Peru, also called Inca rice
Quinoa: “mother grain” in Inca language
Has been eaten for 5000 years as staple food of Inca people; still important today
Small seeds (2-3 mm), yield 3 - 5 t/ha
Cool temperatures tolerated; grows up to 3000 m elevation; 90 - 125 d to harvest
Seed coat with bitter saponin compounds is removed prior to consumption
high content of minerals, essential Aas
Highly branched root, 200 - 400 mm H2O/a
Grain composition in Quinoa
highly nutritious food
protein quality and quantity in quinoa seed is often superior to those of more common cereal grains
Water: 12.6%
Crude Protein: 13.8%
Fat: 5%
Carbohydrates: 59.7%
Fiber: 4.1%
Ash: 3.4%
See page 26 for comparison with other cereals
Buckwheat classification
Fagopyrum esculentum
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Genus: Fagopyrum
Species:
F. esculentum
F. tataricum
F. cymosum
History of Buckwheat
Buckwheat originates in the Tibetan plateau or nerby mountains of Yunnan, southwest China. There are 16 wild species of Fagopyrum, all focused on the Himalayan and southwest China region
Dissemination to Europe easy due to short vegetation period, which allows for a cultivation during sumemr time. Additionally, it’s well adapted to temperate-warm climates
Traditionally grown in south of Switzerland (val Poschiavo) and North of Italy (Valtellina) but then gradually abandoned
Two major buckwheat species
Normal or sweet buckwheat
Fagopyrum esculentum
Tatar or bitter buckwheat
Fagopyrum tataricum
Fagopyrum esculentum
originally from temperate regions of North-India & China
Grey od dark-brown seeds, low phenol contents
SD or photoperiodic neutral plants
highly cold sensitive
vegetation period. 3- 4 months
plant height 60 - 80 cm
white-pink flowers
Fagopyrum tataricum
originally from colder regions of North-India and China
Grey, brown or black seeds, smaller than those of F. esculentum
SD and photoperiodic neutral plants
vegetation period: 3-4 months
plant height up to 100 cm
small, light-green flowers
Current global cultivation of Buckwheat
Global area harvested: 3 Mio ha
Total yield: 2.9 Mio t
Average yield: ca. 1t/ha
Top three countries are China, Russian Federation and France
Reasons, why buckwheat declined in Europe
no yield improvements compared with other crops
low stability of the yield
low response to fertilization
irregular maturation of seeds therefore difficult to harvest
few registered cultivars, therefore no regular seed production
high fiber and tannin contents
risk of fagopyrismus (sickness in humans and livestock; skin irritation after eating buckwheat)
Difficulty with buckwheat
it grows in lots of respects like a ‘wild plant’
Buckwheat is self-incompatible -> cross pollination
The plant flowers profusely, but only 10 - 20% of the flowers set seeds
Two tpes of flowers:
- thrum: short pistils, long stamens
- pin: long pistils, short stamens
- cross pollination occurs only between pin & thrum flowers
-> therefore breeding is very difficult
Favorable crop rotation aspects (Buckwheat)
Buckwheat is self-compatible (year after year)
No major disease problems
Grows fast, covers weeds relatively rapidly
Preceeding crops: no special requirements
Good: fertilized root crops such as potato or sugar beet, also legumes or cereals
Succeeding crops: cereals; could be integrated relatively easily in existing crop rotations or be grown as second crop in July - October
Breeding goals in Buckwheat
uniform flowering, seed-set and maturation
Improved lodging resistance (shorter stems)
no shattering of mature seeds
drought tolerance
cold tolerance
seed quality (taste)
yield stability
Nutritional aspects of buckwheat
Starch makes up more than 50% of the total dry matter of seed -> high content of carbohydrates
Buckwheat proteins have higher biological value than those of cereals because of their high lysine levels
Does not contain gluten -> Gluten free products rising in demand
Buckwheat bran is a rich source of dietary fiber
High levels of anti-oxidants
Buckwheat compounds
Triangular seeds are used to make flour after being removed from the husk
100 g of buckwheat -> ~ 300 Kcal
Composition of buckwheat flour:
60 - 70% carbohydrate
10 - 12% protein
ca. 2% fat
4 - 10% fiber
11% water
2% minerals
Current uses of buckwheat
Primarily used for human consumption in form of
- breakfast cereals
- pancake mixes
- part of breads
- galettes
- soba noodles
- Pizzoccheri
- cooked like polenta
Current use in Switzerland - Buckwheat
use as fodder plant or as cover crop
Buckwheat fruits
Nucule: brown or silver-gray, triangular, half-size of a wheat seed
some plants set well over 200 seeds, others set only 10 to 20 seeds
Cultivation of buckwheat: environment & soil
temperature sums of 1000 - 1200 °C until maturity, base T °C
Very short begetation period of 10 - 12 weeks
chilling sensitive
optimal growth temperatures: 15 - 25°C; seed set and yield reduces markedly when T>25°C (high temperature sensitivity)
Relatively low water requirements, but yield reduces markedly in drought stress
well adapted to different types of soil; preference for well drained, light and losse soils
Buckwheat tolerates salt stress up to 100 mM and is tolerant to acidity (optimal pH value: 5.3 - 7)
What does buckwheat doesn’t like?
Hard soil
Flooding and crusting before the first true lieves expand
Even light frost is lethal. A frost will kill the leaves and stems, so the crop must then be harvested immediately
High temperatures during early flowering can prevent seed set (called heat blasting)
in dry weather, rapid transpiration causes the plants to wilt even if soil moisture is adequate
Defoliation by deer, hail or mowing eliminates yield
Most herbicides cause serious injury
Cultivation technique in buckwheat - seedbed and sowing
Seedbed: fine structure, without weeds
Sowing:
- late sowing: higher percentage of unfertilized flowers, higher risk of lodging, seeds located mainly on main stem and first axillary branches
- early sowing: flowering and maturation delayed, flowering period reduced, maturation more uniform, seeds located mainly on secondary axillary branches
Yields are higher when sown early
Sowing date
Seed quantity
sowing depth
distance between rows
-> Buckwheat
Sowing date: mid may - mid june (soil temperature 10 - 12°C), as second crop: sowing until end of june
Seed quantity: 80 kg/ha (drilling)
Sowing depth: 2 - 4 cm
Distance between rows: 10 - 45 cm
Fertilization in buckwheat
Low nutritive requirements
- good capacity to acquire nutrients from soil, especially P
- addition of manure is feasible
- High levels of nitrogen result in excessive vegetative development, lodging and reduced seed set
- fairly high level of P is necessary to set seeds and mature
N: 30 - 80 kg/ha at early vegetation stage
P: 60 - 80 kg/ha (in autumn)
K: 60 - 80 kg/ha (in autumn)
not needed if soil has high content of P2O5 and K2O
Harvest of buckwheat
For seed use: 80 - 90 days after sowing, when 75% of seeds are mature and first larger seeds start to shatter
For use as forage: Two months after sowing (during full flowering)
Harvesting procedures in buckwheat
Today buckwheat is usually harvested with a regular combine. The more ‘green plants’, the more often the harvester needs to be cleaned from plants that got stuck in the cutter. Harvest has to be done prior to first frost event, but not too early in the season (plants have to be dry)
