What does wheat consist of? Cultivated plant common wheat

WHEAT - TRITICUM

Usage. Wheat is the most important grain crop, giving almost 30% of world grain production and supplies food to more than half the world's population. Its wide popularity is due to its versatility using valuable grain quality. It is used primarily for the production of flour, from which bread and many other food products are almost universally prepared. Bread made from good flour contains up to 70-74% carbohydrates (mainly starch), 10-12% protein, minerals, amino acids, and vitamins. This tasty, nutritious, high-calorie product (up to 347 calories per 100 g) is well absorbed and digested by the body. Grain and its waste during harvesting (chaff, straw) and bran are fed to domestic animals. Straw is used to make paper, movable walls, roofs, mats, and household items.

Spreading. According to the FAO bulletin (1989), wheat is cultivated over a vast territory in 220 million hectares, occupying 31.4% of the total world area under grain crops.
The main crops are located in Eurasia - 71.8% (including in the USSR - 21.8%, or 48 million hectares) and America - 20.2% (including in Northern - 16.0%), much less in Africa - 3.8% and Oceania - 4.2%. More than half of the wheat crops (55%) are located in economically developed countries, which produce 57.5% of the grain (total world production - 510 million tons) with an average yield of 2.4 t/ha. The main contributors to wheat grain production are the USA, Canada, Australia, USSR, Italy, Spain, Romania, France, and Great Britain. The last two countries receive the highest productivity grain - 5-6.9 t/ha.
In developing countries, wheat is grown on an area of ​​about 100 million hectares, from which 217 million tons of grain are produced per year. In the subtropical and tropical zones, the main producers of wheat grain are: China, India, Turkey, Pakistan, Iran, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Morocco, Algeria, South Africa. Quite significant areas under cultivation are in Iraq, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Chile. In addition, it is cultivated in Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Peru, Uruguay, Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan, Zimbabwe and some other tropical countries.

Description of the plant. Wheat is an annual erect plant cereal plant height from 0.3 to 1.2 m. Propagated by seeds (grains), which sprout with 3-6 embryonic roots, which play a large role in the life of the plant. When 4-5 leaves appear from the underground tillering node, a secondary root system (nodal roots) begins to form. It is fibrous, not wide, sometimes individual roots penetrate to a depth of 1 m or more. Lateral shoots appear from the tillering node somewhat earlier than the nodal roots - when the 3rd leaf is formed. In total, from 1 to 6 shoots are formed (tillering process).

Shoot (stem)- a hollow straw divided by nodes into internodes (4-7), the length of which increases up the stem. Internodes from below are tightly covered by leaf sheaths, which diverge from above and turn into freely protruding smooth, linear leaf blades 1-2 cm wide, 20 to 37 cm long. At the end of the tillering phase, intensive growth of stems begins due to the sequential lengthening of internodes from bottom to top (phase - exit into a tube, or stemming). In the process of stemming inflorescence(spike) rises along the stem and emerges from the sheath of the top leaf, the plant enters the heading phase. A spike 5-10 cm long consists of a rod, on each ledge of which a spikelet sits in 2 parallel rows, ending with a spikelet on top. The spikelets consist of 2 glumes and several flowers (from 1 to 5), each of which is enclosed in 2 glumes. In spinous ears, the outer scales bear awns. Flower consists of an ovary with an ovule, 2 feathery stigmas and 3 stamens. Bloom in wheat it occurs immediately after heading. It starts from the center of the ear, then spreads upward and downward simultaneously. Flowering can be closed (in cloudy or rainy weather) or open. Prevails selfing. With the onset of flowering, stem growth stops. After fertilization, the formation, filling and ripening of the fruit begins (ripening phase).

Fetus- grain - consists of tightly fused fruit and seed coats, endosperm with outer aleurone (protein) and inner starchy layers and an embryo. Weight of 1000 grains is 30-50 g. The grain is very valuable, it contains 75-79% carbohydrates, 15-20% protein, 1.9-2.2% fat, 1.9-2.1% ash and 2.2 -2.4% fiber. Used in baking as a soft wheat flour improver. It is mainly used to produce the best varieties of semolina, pasta, noodles, and vermicelli.

Origin and systematics. Wheat belongs to the genus Triticum, which includes more than 30 species. Membranous species of this genus were found in excavations of human habitation on the territory of modern Iraq, Turkey, Jordan; the age of the excavations was determined to be 7-6.5 thousand years BC. e. Ancient forms soft (ordinary) wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) were discovered in Iran, where they were cultivated 5 thousand years BC. e. In Europe, soft wheat was known 3 thousand years BC. e.

Currently, this is the most common type of cultivated wheat, numbering more than 250 varieties and several thousand varieties. The grain consists of carbohydrates - 75-80% (mainly starch), protein - 10-15, fat - 1.5-2.5, ash - 1.7-2.1, fiber - 2-2.6%. Soft wheat flour is widely used in baking. The bread has high taste, nutritional value and good digestibility. The baking benefits of wheat flour depend on the protein and gluten content of the grain. Strong flour contains at least 14% protein, 28% gluten, medium flour - 11-13.9% and 25-27%, respectively. The quantity and quality of gluten determine the volumetric yield of bread, its spreadability and porosity of the crumb. Soft wheat has spring and winter forms. This is an extremely plastic species, adapted to various climatic conditions, soil types, and terrain. The culture can be found in the lowlands and at altitudes up to 4000 m above sea level. seas, in the hottest places and beyond the Arctic Circle.

The second most common type is durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.), the origin of which is not precisely established. It is believed that it originated from the Mediterranean, where an exceptional variety of its varieties and varieties was found. Durum wheat is represented mainly by spring forms, which are cultivated in hotter and drier places compared to soft wheat, including in the tropics of India, Ethiopia, and Argentina. The species is characterized by short stature, early ripening, heat resistance, and resistance to grain shedding. Plants almost never lodge and use irrigation water well, which makes durum wheat a promising crop in irrigated areas. Compared to soft, it is less affected by Hessian fly, leaf rust and loose smut, the latter being associated with a closed type of flowering. It has high requirements for soil fertility and cleanliness of fields from weeds.

In addition to soft and durum wheat, common in the tropics and subtropics other cultural species.
Spring crops spelled (T. dicoccum Schrank.) found in North Africa, Ethiopia, Yemen, and India. Spelled plants are early-ripening, heat-resistant, resistant to stem rust and smut pathogens, and have good quality grain. Spring forms Mesopotamian wheat (T. persivalii Hubbard.) occupy limited areas in Syria, Turkey, and China. Branched form wheat turgidum (T. turgidum L.) grown as spring and winter crops in the Mediterranean and Ethiopia. Spring crops are also found here Polish wheat (T. polonicum L.). In India and Pakistan, small areas are cultivated round grain wheat (T. Sphaerococcum Pers.).

Biological features. Wheat is one of the few crops that can be grown in a wide range thermal, light and soil regimes.
In the temperate zone it is cultivated from hot steppe regions to cold northern ones. Early ripening, cold-resistant varieties of winter crops (about 3/4 of all areas of the temperate zone) and spring wheat predominate here. A temperature of 12-14° C is enough for them to germinate seeds and establish seedlings, and the seedlings can withstand short-term frosts. During tillering, spring wheat also has little heat requirement. Winter forms for normal overwintering and transition to generative phases must undergo hardening (accumulation of sugars in tillering nodes, gradual dehydration of cells, transformation of insoluble organic substances into soluble ones) with a gradual decrease in temperature and day length during the autumn tillering period. To go through the generative phases (stemming, heading, flowering, ripening), wheat requires a consistent increase in average daily temperatures from 18 to 28 ° C. The sum of active temperatures (above 10 ° C) during the growing season should not be lower than 1400-1600 °. The optimal annual precipitation for rain-fed wheat is 600-800 mm. However, with a favorable distribution of precipitation, it can produce good yields even with a lower amount of precipitation (400-450 mm), the main thing is that during the growing season the amount is not less than 200 mm.

In the tropics Wheat is cultivated mainly in mountainous regions, where the temperature is relatively low and varies significantly between day and night. Winter and semi-winter (“two-handed”) forms predominate here. On the plains, spring and semi-winter wheat are more often grown in the dry season with irrigation or in the colder season without it. For example, in East Africa, the altitude of wheat is from 1600 to 3000 m above sea level. seas. In West Africa, it is cultivated on high plains (200 to 500 m) during the dry season with irrigation.

In India, where wheat is one of the main grain crops, there is 5 climate zones its zoning. The country mainly cultivates winter and semi-winter wheat. In the northern zone, the most late-ripening winter varieties are grown - local and selection (DL420-9, HB 501, etc.), which are sown in early dates, but no later than October and are grown both by precipitation and by irrigation. In the northern lowland zone with limited moisture supply (250-625 mm of precipitation per year), early-ripening semi-winter local and selected varieties (HD228, DWL5023, ML3, MLKS11, CPAN, etc.) are sown in November-December and grown mainly under irrigation. In the central (flat) and southwestern (plain) zones with precipitation from 625 to 1250 mm per year, the main crops of winter and semi-winter wheat (varieties - HI617, JU12, etc.) are placed on rainfed soil. In the driest areas, irrigated wheat is planted (promising varieties LOK1, HL2236, etc.). The eastern zone is one of the most moisture-rich in India (precipitation amount is up to 2000 mm per year). Rain wheat crops are located here, mid-season varieties (120-140 days), they are sown in late October - early November.

Selection and varieties. Low wheat yields in the tropics are explained by a whole range of reasons. First of all, this is the spread of low-yielding local varieties, non-compliance with the correct rotation of crops in the fields, lack of mechanization, irrigation, fertilizers, and modern means of protecting plants from diseases, pests, and weeds. Many local as well as introduced breeding varieties, especially when cultivated in the warm and humid climate of tropical plains, suffer from plant lodging and fungal diseases, especially stem (pathogen Puccinia graminis Pers.), leaf (pathogen P. triticina Erikss.) and yellow (pathogen P . striiformis West.) rust. In dry places, varieties often die from drought.

Accordingly, there are the following directions selection to improve varieties for tropical regions of the world:
1. High productivity due to optimal tillering, ear size, number and weight of grains.
2. Early ripening for areas with a hot, dry climate and some diseases.
3. Resistance to lodging, i.e. the presence of short and strong stems in plants.
4. Resistance to shedding.
5. Resistance to pests and diseases, especially rust.
6. Adaptation to local conditions and cultivation techniques.
7. Good technological qualities of grain.

Great strides have been made in the world selection of short-stem wheat, including tropical regions. The varieties are highly productive, resistant to lodging, shedding, and diseases, and respond well to fertilizers and irrigation. However, their implementation in the tropics often produces very little effect. This is mainly due to the low level of agricultural technology, under which they cannot realize their potential. The traditional continuous cultivation of wheat in the same fields or in a mixture with other crops (legumes, oilseeds, grains, potatoes, cotton, etc.) in rainfed conditions is completely unsuitable for new, intensive varieties. Only in crop rotation with scientifically based alternation with other annual crops can one expect good grain yields. It has been proven that wheat on poor soils of tropical regions with an annual rainfall of 500-800 mm responds well to green manure fallow, when the previous crop, preferably a legume, is plowed into the soil as a green fertilizer during flowering. On more fertile soils, it gives high yields after full fallow, i.e. when placed on a field in which early-ripening, preferably also legumes (peas, cowpeas, beans, dolichos, chickpeas, etc.), are first grown, and then processed with using plows and other implements and kept clean until wheat is sowed. Good results are obtained by alternating it in crop rotation with cotton, tobacco, sweet potato, vegetables, corn, and sugar cane.

Soil requirements. Wheat can grow on different soils, but the best ones for her are neutral, fertile, breathable with good water-holding capacity. Durum wheat, compared to soft wheat, produces higher yields on fertile and weed-free soil, which is associated with its lower bushiness and slow growth at the beginning of the growing season. Spring crops, as they ripen more quickly than winter crops, are more demanding of the nutrients available in the soil. The need for them depends on the age of the plants. For example, nitrogen is used during the period from intensive growth of stems to the beginning of seed filling, phosphorus - during shoot formation, and potassium - from heading to filling.

Pre-sowing activities. One of the most important agrotechnical operations- soil preparation for sowing is very imperfect in small-scale farms in the tropics. It is carried out manually with hoes or local plows with the help of animals to a depth of 8-10 cm, repeating up to 4-8 times to loosen the soil well. Fertilizers are usually not applied. On large farms, with modern technology and crop rotations, soil preparation is carried out taking into account agrotechnical requirements and local conditions. Moldboard plowing (completely wrapping the soil layers with a moldboard plow) to the depth of the arable layer is carried out when applying manure or incorporating green fertilizers, as a rule, on soils where there is no wind erosion. Otherwise, disc or moldless plows are used, which loosen well, but do not turn over and dry out the soil less. If the wheat follows an irrigated row crop with wide, regularly cultivated row spacing, there is no need for plowing. In India, in this case, the soil is processed twice with heavy disc harrows, then leveled.

Sowing/planting. In the subtropics sowing time winter and semi-winter wheat - from the end of September to the end of November. It is best to avoid late November sowings, as this weakens the plant's resistance to rust and delays ripening. Sowing of spring wheat in these regions begins no earlier than the average daily temperature is 12-13 ° C, which coincides with the calendar period from December to March.

Sow usually on level ground. If the sowing time in the tropics falls on rainy days and the soil is very waterlogged, then wheat is sown in 2-3 rows with distances of 10-12 cm on previously prepared beds. Until now, the main methods of sowing in peasant farms have been manual: broadcast, in a plow furrow under local plows, and with handicraft seeders. In India, peasants use wooden seeders with 2-3 bamboo coulters located at a distance of 25-30 cm. Large farms use tractor seeders with row spacing from 15 to 25 cm, which sow wheat to a depth of 3 (short-stemmed varieties) to 9 cm. Simultaneously with sowing, 15 to 30 kg/ha of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers are applied. The number of seeds sown may vary; it primarily depends on the availability of water to the plants during the period of growth and development. In regions with an annual precipitation of 300-400 mm and wheat cultivation without irrigation, it is enough to sow from 50 to 160 kg of seeds per 1 ha (seed rate). With an increase in the natural moisture supply of the area or during irrigation, the seeding rate also increases to 200 kg/ha or more. Crops are usually rolled down to protect them from birds.
If the wheat seedlings are quite dense and strong, but there are many annual weeds among them, then harrowing is done, which destroys up to 80% of the weeds. Further weed control is carried out manually in small farms, while herbicides are used in large farms.

Fertilizers. In areas with developed livestock farming, apply manure(10-30 t/ha), about 2/3 phosphorus and potassium and about 1/3 nitrogen fertilizers. The rest of the fertilizer is given as supplementary fertilizer during plant growth and development. The total amount of mineral fertilizers varies, it depends on the needs of the variety, the availability of water and nutrients in the soil, the previous crop, the level of economics of the farm and many other reasons. For example, nitrogen in the tropics and subtropics is applied from 20 to 150 kg/ha, phosphorus - from 25 to 70, potassium - from 0 to 60 kg/ha. Wheat responds best to nitrogen fertilizer. Local high-stem varieties of Indian wheat need 50-60 kg of nitrogen per 1 hectare, with larger amounts they will lodge, local improved varieties - 70-100 kg/ha, and for short-stemmed varieties the optimal dose is 110-150 kg/ha. If the predecessor of wheat is a leguminous grass (clover, alfalfa), which accumulates more than 100 kg/ha of atmospheric nitrogen due to nitrogen fixation, then the dose of nitrogen fertilizers for short-stemmed wheat is reduced to 70-80 kg/ha and below. The amount of fertilizer applied also varies greatly depending on precipitation. For example, in South Africa, with rain-fed wheat crops in places with precipitation from 300 to 500 mm per year, from 14 to 32 kg of nitrogen are added, with an increase in precipitation - 33-42 kg/ha. In dry regions of India, the dose of nitrogen in rain-fed crops is reduced by 2-5 times compared to irrigated crops, and the amount of phosphorus in the fertilizer is correspondingly reduced.

Caring for crops/plantings. After applying the main fertilizer and plowing, small cultivation, and before sowing it is leveled, especially carefully for irrigated wheat, which is sown at the end of the wet or at the beginning of the dry season. Sowing of rain-fed wheat in the tropics is carried out at the beginning of rainfall or later, depending on the duration of the rainy season, the intensity of precipitation, and the length of the growing season of the variety. Compliance with sowing dates is very important, and sometimes the main condition for obtaining good harvests. It is advisable to select them so that from germination to tillering the soil is moist and the air temperature is cool. If the weather is hot at this time, plant growth and shoot formation are inhibited and, what is especially dangerous, the susceptibility of wheat to diseases and pests increases. For example, in the northern lowland zone of India, the sowing of winter wheat, carried out in the second ten days of December, i.e., significantly later than the optimal timing (from the third ten days of October to the first November), led to a loss of 1.8-2.0 tons of grain per 1 ha (harvest in optimal timing 5.6-5.8 t/ha). The calendar dates for sowing wheat in the tropics are very different: in Africa (South Africa) - from August to December, in America (Mexico) - from September to January, in Australia - from April to July.

Irrigation Wheat cultivation is carried out during the dry season in the tropics, as well as in dry and semi-dry subtropics with annual precipitation below 300-400 mm and unfavorable distribution. The crop needs watering most during the period of formation of nodal roots, i.e. 20-^25 days after sowing, during flowering and grain filling. In India, a good harvest of short-stem wheat is obtained with 4-5 waterings; nitrogen fertilizing is done before the second and third waterings. With a limited supply of water, wheat is watered only during the period of shoot formation or, if there is enough water for 2 waterings, also during flowering. In Bangladesh, high yields are obtained with 3 irrigations, which begin 80-85 days after sowing and end during the grain filling period. In Pakistan, short-stem wheat is grown with 4 irrigations: during germination, tillering, heading and grain filling, and nitrogen fertilizing is given in the first two periods. In the tropics, watering is most often carried out by flooding. Checks are specially prepared for it, that is, they limit the field with ridges of earth that hold water. After watering, if row spacing allows, hand hoeing is done to break up the soil crust. On rain-fed wheat, fertilizing is applied 3 and 6 weeks after sowing.

Care management of a wheat field includes disease and pest control. Chemical plant protection products are rarely used by individual peasant farms in the tropics because of their high cost. Agrotechnical methods of control are more often used: disease-resistant varieties, protective tillage, correct sowing dates, manual weeding along the edges of fields (intermediate hosts of diseases), harvesting at the optimal time with immediate removal of straw from the field, stubble burning.

In somatic cells. The diploid series includes 3 wild species - wild einkorn (T. boeoticum), wild double einkorn (T. thaoudar), Wheat Urartu, or einkorn Urartu (T. urartu), and 2 cultivated ones - filmy einkorn (T. monococcum) and naked einkorn, or Wheat Sinskaya (T. sinskajae). Tetraploid series: wild species - wild emmer, or wild emmer (T. dicoccoides), Wheat Ararat (T. araraticum); cultivated species with membranous grain - Wheat Timofeeva, or zanduri (T. timopheevi), Wheat Karamysheva, or ancient Colchian (T. karamyschevii, T. palaeo-colchicum, T. georgicum), spelled (emmer, or emmer) (T. dicoccum), Wheat Isfahan (T. ispahanicum); cultural naked species - hard (T. durum), turgidum (T. turgidum), Wheat Persian (Kartali, or wild) (T. persicum, T. carthlicum), Turanian (T. turanicum), Ethiopian (T. aethiopicum), Polish (T. polonicum). The hexaploid series includes cultivated filmy species - macha (T. macha), spelled (T. spelta), Wheat Vavilov, or Vanskaya (T. vavilovii), Wheat Zhukovsky (T. zhukovskyi); cultivated naked species - soft, or ordinary (T. aestivum, T. vulgare), dense-eared, or dwarf (T. compactum), spherical (T. sphaeracoccum), Wheat Petropavlovsky (T. petropavlovskyi). Known octoploid synthetic Wheat created in laboratory conditions: mushroom (T. fungicidum), Soviet (T. soveticum), Wheat Cicina (T. cziczinii, T. agropyrotritium). Depending on the spinousness of the ear, its color and the pubescence of the spikelet scales, the color of the awns and grains, the types Wheat are divided into varieties, the number of which is very large (see. Erythrospermum , Lutescens , Milturum , Ferrugineum , Grekum , Albidum , Velutinum , Melianopus , Gordeiforme ).

General range Wheat covers all continents of the globe. However, only soft and hard Wheat spread very widely. In the north, the cultivation boundary Wheat reaches 66° N. w. (in Sweden), in the USSR in experimental crops - up to 76 ° 44 "N (Murmansk region); in the south - to the southern borders of Australia, South America, Africa. Wheat- predominantly steppe culture. In Europe it occupies mainly steppe and forest-steppe zones, in North America - prairies, in South America (Argentina) - pampa, in Australia - steppe and semi-desert spaces. Wheat It is also grown in foothill and mountainous areas (its crops are found at an altitude of up to 4 thousand meters). m above sea level).

Wheat production in selected countries (FAO data, 1972)

Country	Area, million hectares			Productivity, ts from 1 ha			Gross grain harvest, million. T
	1948-52	1961-65	1972	1948-52	1961-65	1972	1948-52	1961-65	1972
Total in the world including: Argentina* Pakistan Australia Yugoslavia United Kingdom Iran	173,3	210,9	213,5	9,9	12,1	16,3	171,2	254,3	347,6

* Argentina is the leading producer of wheat (almost exclusively soft spring) in South America.

Botanical description. Root system Wheat fibrous, develops in the upper (arable) layer of soil, individual roots penetrate to a depth of 180 cm. The stem is a straw. Its height (40-130 cm) determines stability Wheat to lodging and is associated with productivity. New high-yielding varieties obtained in Mexico, USA, USSR, India are distinguished by short (50-85 cm) with hard straw and are superior in yield to tall varieties. The color of the straw when ripe is white, cream, golden yellow, in some Wheat purple. The leaf consists of a leaf sheath covering the stem and a linear leaf blade.

Inflorescence Wheat- complex ear. On the ledges of its stem sit spikelets, consisting of 2 glumes and 3-5 (rarely more) flowers between them. The main shapes of the ear are spindle-shaped (most often found in soft Wheat), prismatic (for solid Wheat), club-shaped; in some species and forms the spike is branched. Its color is white, red, black; The color of the awns is the same as the color of the ear; in varieties with white and red ears it can be black. Wheat- self-pollinator. Most species have closed flowering. Open flowering is characteristic of diploid Wheat Fetus Wheat- naked or membranous grain (usually called grain ), oval, elliptical, ovoid, elongated or spherical in shape, with a longitudinal groove on the ventral side, usually white or red (reddish-brown) in color. The consistency of the grain is mealy (soft Wheat) and glassy (hard and the best varieties soft Wheat); 1000 grains weigh 20-50 g, y some types and forms 70 G and more.

Biological features.Wheat- annual plant. By hybridizing various species and genera, perennial forms have been created. In wheat, there are winter, spring, semi-winter and two-handed forms (they produce a harvest when sown in spring and autumn). Winter Wheat has 2 periods of active growing season: autumn (45-50 days), during which vegetative organs develop, and spring-summer (75-100 days) - Generative organs are formed and the plant produces a harvest. Yarovaya Wheat sown in spring, in areas with mild winters - also in autumn, its growing season is 70-110 days

Seeds Wheat begin to germinate at 1-2 °C. The optimal temperature for obtaining vigorous shoots is 12-15 °C, growth and development is 16-22 °C, grain filling is 22-25 °C. During the growing season for winter Wheat you need a sum of average daily temperatures of about 2100 °C, spring temperatures - at least 1300 °C. Frost-resistant winter varieties Wheat tolerate temperature drops in winter down to -20 °C, sometimes down to -35 °C (with normal hardening and sufficient snow cover); spring seedlings Wheat- freezing down to -8 °C. Great importance for the success of winter crops Wheat It is resistant to weathering, soaking, ice crust, and bulging (see. Winter hardiness of plants , Plants getting wet , Plants bulging , Damping off of plants ).

Wheat quite demanding on moisture, especially during the period of exit into the tube - grain filling; responsive to irrigation (intensive varieties give 80-100 ts from 1 ha grains). Spring drought sharply reduces the grain yield without reducing its quality; drought during flowering causes through the grain, and during filling - the grain becomes shrunken. For education 1 ts grains (with straw and chaff) Wheat consumes 3-3.5 kg , 1-1,3 kg 2 5 and 2-3 kg K 2 O. The plant consumes the largest amount of 2 O 5 and K 2 O during the period of tillering - flowering, - tillering - filling. The best soils for Wheat- chernozems; on soddy-podzolic soils it gives a good harvest when fertilized. Yarovaya Wheat It is especially productive when sown in virgin lands and fallow lands. The culture does not tolerate acidic soils (pH below 5.0).

History of culture. Home to many species Wheat(Ararat, Maha, Timofeeva, Urartu, Persian, etc.) is the USSR (Transcaucasia). Many varieties of soft tissue were also found here. Wheat

Greatest variety of solids Wheat and turgidum - in Azerbaijan and Italy. Culture Wheat was known in the countries of Western Asia (Türkiye, Iraq, Syria, Iran) and Turkmenistan for 7-6 thousand years BC. e., in Greece, Bulgaria - 6-5 thousand years BC. e., Egypt - more than 4 thousand years BC. e. In these countries, the first to be cultivated were the filmy species of spelt, and in some places the more ancient einkorn. In China Wheat began to be cultivated around 3 thousand years BC. e., on the territory of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Moldova - about 3-2 thousand years BC. e. In Transcaucasia Wheat was known about 5-4 thousand years BC. e., in the North Caucasus - about 1-0.5 thousand years BC. e., in Belarus, Latvia and Lithuania - from the 4th-5th centuries. n. e., in the Urals (Perm region) - in the 9th century. To South America Wheat was brought in 1528, to North America (USA) - in 1602, in Canada it began to be cultivated in 1812, in Australia - in 1788.

Economic importance.Wheat- one of the main food crops. Of the total world grain production, wheat accounts for about 27%. The grain is nutritious, high in calories, contains a lot of protein (from 10-12 to 20-25% in selected varieties, up to 25-30% in wild species), carbohydrates (60-64%), as well as fat (2%), vitamins, enzymes, minerals, etc. It is easy to store, transport, and process into flour, cereals, and other products. Grain, bran and other grinding waste are valuable concentrated feed and raw materials for the feed industry. Straw is used as roughage and bedding, as well as for the production of paper, cardboard, packaging material, weaving baskets, hats, etc. Green mass Wheat fed to livestock.

Cultivation areas. In world agriculture Wheat occupies the largest area among other grain crops. IN European countries They grow mainly soft winter red grain Wheat; In the north, for example in Finland, spring varieties predominate. hard Wheat cultivated in the southern continent (Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, etc.). Crops in Asia Wheat concentrated in China, India, Turkey, Pakistan, Iran, Syria, Iraq, and the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean (see table). Soft vegetables are mainly grown here Wheat(red-grain and white-grain spring varieties). A significant area is occupied by solid Wheat, spelt (emmer) is also cultivated in India, and spelt is cultivated in India and Pakistan. Wheat America has the largest crops Wheat in the USA (Kansas, North Dakota, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Texas, etc.). They cultivate soft winter crops Wheat(more than half the area), mainly red grain varieties with glassy grains. Significant soft spring crops Wheat(red and white grain varieties) and durum Wheat In Canada Wheat grown mainly in the steppe provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, mainly spring soft red grain varieties with glassy grains; hard - in small areas. Mexico has the largest crops Wheat in the state of Sonora (soft spring red grain varieties). In Australia, soft spring Wheat white grain varieties are cultivated in all states except the Northern Territory. Cultivation in Africa Wheat concentrated in the Nile Valley, the northwestern part of the continent, in the Middle Eastern zone. In Egypt, soft spring crops predominate Wheat white grain varieties; hard - in small areas. In Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria - firm white grain varieties. A special species is cultivated in Ethiopia Wheat, close to hard, soft Wheat and spelt (emmer), in Kenya - red and white grain varieties of soft Wheat

In pre-revolutionary Russia, winter Wheat grown almost exclusively in the south of the country (8.3 million). ha in 1913). In the USSR, it is cultivated in all major agricultural regions (from the southern Arkhangelsk region to the southern regions of Turkmenistan); the largest areas are in Ukraine, the North Caucasus, the Central Black Earth regions, the Volga region, southern Kazakhstan, etc. Soft Wheat red and white grain varieties, most of which are strong wheats. Hard winter crop Wheat occupies small areas mainly in Azerbaijan. Yarovaya Wheat in Russia in 1913 they sown 24.6 million. ha; in the USSR its area increased almost 2 times (1973). cultivation areas: Kazakhstan, forest-steppe and steppe regions of Siberia, the Urals, Volga region, Central Chernozem regions, non-chernozem zone, etc. Mainly soft spring crops are sown Wheat(red and white grain varieties). Hard spring Wheat in 1973 it borrowed about 5 million. ha(in the Volga region, the Urals, Kazakhstan, Central Chernozem regions). In small areas in the USSR they cultivate Persian, densely spiked Wheat, spelt (emmer).

Varieties. As of 1974, 73 winter varieties were zoned in the USSR Wheat and 107 spring varieties. From winter varieties soft Wheat the largest areas in 1973 were occupied by Bezostaya 1 (authors Wheat Wheat Lukyanenko , Wheat A. Lukyanenko and N. D. Tarasenko) - 5.5 million. ha and Mironovskaya 808 (author V.N. Craft ) - 5.3 mln. ha. These varieties are also common in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Yugoslavia, East Germany, Czechoslovakia and other countries. Significant crops are Odesskaya 16, Surkhak 5688; varieties of intensive type - Kavkaz, Aurora, Mironovskaya Yubileynaya, Odesskaya 51, Ilyichevka; new varieties - Krasnodarskaya 39, Orbita, Polesskaya 70, etc., combining high yields with increased winter hardiness. Common varieties of hard winter crops Wheat- Shark, Ak-Bugda 13, Arandany, Jafari. The largest share in soft spring crops Wheat occupied by the variety Saratovskaya 29 (authors A. Wheat Shekhurdin, V.N. Mamontova, N.N. Kulikov) - over 16 million. ha in 1973, as well as Bezenchukskaya 98, Albidum 43, Skala, Lutescens 758, Milturum 553, Saratovskaya 210, etc. From spring durums Wheat distributed Kharkovskaya 46 (authors Wheat V. Kuchumov and E. E. Vatulya) - almost 4 million. ha in 1973; They also cultivate Melyanopus 26, Narodnaya, Rocket, etc.

Selection Wheat in the USSR is based on high-quality source material. To breed varieties, hybridization is used, including intergeneric and interspecific (see. Wheat-wheatgrass hybrids And Rye-wheat hybrids ), physical, chemical and natural mutagenesis, transformation of spring varieties into winter varieties and other methods. Use in breeding Wheat Russia's ancient varieties are reflected in the pedigree of its many modern varieties. Thus, the culture of soft winter glassy Wheat in the USA is largely based on varieties exported from Ukraine, especially Krymka, which was used in the selection of the Japanese variety Norin 10, the source for the best dwarf Wheat created in Mexico, USA, India. The creation and introduction into production of dwarf and semi-dwarf varieties (referred to as the “green revolution”) made it possible to sharply increase productivity. For example, in Mexico for 2 decades (1952-72) the harvest Wheat increased 3 times (from 8.8 ts from 1 ha up to 27.2 ts), in India - 2 times. Dwarf and semi-dwarf varieties are also used in breeding in many countries as donors of non-lodging, responsiveness to irrigation and high productivity. In terms of winter hardiness, drought resistance, grain quality, ear productivity and disease resistance, the best varieties of the USSR are superior to varieties of other countries. Selection problem Wheat in the USSR: breeding varieties with strong short straw, disease-resistant, responsive to irrigation and high doses of fertilizers; spring varieties Wheat intensive type, maximally approaching the yield of winter varieties; hard Wheat with a minimal lag in yield from soft; varieties with a high protein content in the grain and especially essential amino acids - tryptophan and lysine.

Cultivation technology. Winter Wheat sown on black and busy couples , perennial grasses, after lupine, a mixture of vetch and oats, peas, early potatoes, corn for green fodder, etc. The best predecessors for spring Wheat- pure fallow, corn, sunflower, legumes, potatoes, perennial grasses, winter grains, etc. To prepare the soil for crops Wheat apply processing according to the system half pair And autumn tillage. For basic winter fertilizers Wheat use manure and composts 20-60 T/ha(especially effective in the non-chernozem zone), mineral fertilizers 40-80 kg/ha 2 O 5, up to 60 cm.

Lit.: Vavilov N, I., World resources of varieties of cereals, grains, legumes, flax and their use in breeding. Wheat, M. - L., 1964; Lukyanenko Wheat Wheat, Fav. works. Selection and seed production of wheat, M., 1973; Tsitsin N.V., Distant hybridization of plants, M., 1954; Mironovsky wheat, ed. V. N. Craft, M., 1972; Prutskov F. M., Winter wheat, M., 1970; Wheat and its improvement, trans. from English, ed. M. M. Yakubtsinera, N. Wheat Kozmina, L.N. Lyubarsky, M., 1970; Sinskaya E.N., Historical geography of cultural flora, Leningrad, 1969; Zhukovsky Wheat M., Cultivated plants and their relatives, 3rd ed., Leningrad, 1971; Ivanov Wheat K., Spring wheat, 3rd ed., M., 1971; Plant growing, 3rd ed., M., 1971.

M. M. Yakubtsiner.

Article about the word " Wheat" in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia was read 35513 times



(Triticum), a genus of annual and biennial grasses of the grass family, one of the most important grain crops. The flour obtained from grains is used to bake white bread and produce other food products; flour milling waste serves as livestock feed and poultry, and recently they are increasingly used as raw materials for industry. Wheat is a leading grain crop in many regions of the world and a staple food in northern China, parts of India and Japan, many Middle Eastern and North African countries, and the southern plains of South America. The main wheat producer is China, the second largest is the USA; followed by India, Russia, France, Canada, Ukraine, Türkiye and Kazakhstan. Wheat grain is the most important agricultural item of international trade: almost 60% of all grain exports. The world's leading exporter of wheat is the United States. Canada, France, Australia and Argentina also export a lot of wheat. The main importers of wheat are Russia, China, Japan, Egypt, Brazil, Poland, Italy, India, South Korea, Iraq and Morocco. There are thousands of varieties of wheat, and their classification is quite complex, but there are only two main types - hard and soft. Soft varieties are also divided into red-grain and white-grain. They are usually grown in regions with guaranteed moisture. Durum varieties are grown in areas with a drier climate, for example where the natural vegetation type is steppe. In Western Europe and Australia, mainly soft varieties are produced, and in the USA, Canada, Argentina, Western Asia, North Africa and former USSR- mostly solid.
Properties and use. Soft and durum wheat varieties have much in common, but clearly differ in a number of characteristics that are important for the use of flour. Historians claim that the ancient Greeks and Romans, and possibly even earlier civilizations, knew the difference between the two types of wheat. In flour obtained from soft varieties, the starch grains are larger and softer, its consistency is thinner and more crumbly, it contains less gluten and absorbs less water. This flour is used for baking mainly confectionery products, not bread, since products made from it crumble and quickly become stale. In areas where soft varieties are grown, bread is baked from its mixture with flour obtained from imported durum varieties. In flour made from durum wheat, the starch grains are smaller and harder, its consistency is fine-grained, and there is relatively much gluten. This flour, called "strong", absorbs large quantities odes and is used primarily for baking bread, with the exception of those obtained from the species T. durum, which is used for the production of pasta. As the proportion of meat and other non-grain foods in people's diets increases, the amount of wheat and other grains they directly consume decreases. However, wheat is also widely used for livestock feed, and the nutritional value of the grain is almost independent of its milling qualities. Now in the USA, as a rule, whole grain is used for this, although previously, mainly grinding waste - bran, etc. - was used as feed additives. flour. This waste has been fed to farm animals since ancient times: if there is more cellulose, first of all cattle and horses, if there are fewer of them - pigs and poultry. Wheat bran is especially valued as an additive to the diet of pregnant cows and ewes. Previously, they were also given in large quantities to horses due to their known laxative properties. Pigs are suitable for fine bran, which includes the germ and the meal that adheres to it. They are most effective when used with slaughterhouse waste, fishmeal and dairy by-products as additives to corn and other grain feed. The use of milling waste in poultry farming, especially broiler farming, has recently begun to decline due to the growing popularity of low-fiber diets. Monosodium glutamate was first obtained from wheat protein, a taste-enhancing substance that is widely used in Japan soy sauces, however, it is now produced mainly from the same soybeans. Until recently, applied research on wheat was mainly aimed at improving its nutritional properties. Laboratory experiments have shown that wheat gluten can be used to produce plastics, fibers and adhesives, but these products are fragile and water-soluble, so they have no commercial value. Recently, trends toward decreasing bread consumption in the United States have revived interest in unconventional uses of wheat. “Instant” dishes reminiscent of semolina porridge are obtained from specially processed flour, high-protein breakfast cereals are made from gluten, and wheat germ is recognized as very healthy in its raw form. Wheat starch is used to strengthen paper. It is usually extracted from grain, but sometimes from straw. The adhesive and viscous properties of wheat flour itself are used in industry. It serves as an additive to drilling fluids used in oil production and as a flocculating (floc-forming) agent when extracting gold from solution, improves the binding of the mineral part to the paper coating in gypsum cardboard, is a filler for waterproof adhesives in plywood, an impregnating composition, etc.
Biology. The wheat plant has a culm-stem, characteristic of all cereals, with nodes and usually hollow internodes, and the leaves are simple, linear, alternate, two-rowed. Each leaf extends from a node and consists of a sheath, covering the overlying internode like a split tube, and a long narrow plate. At the border between the vagina and the plate there are three outgrowths - a wide membranous tongue adjacent to the stem, and two finger-like ears covering the latter. The upper internode, or peduncle, bears the inflorescence - a complex spike. It consists of a geniculate central axis and successively small simple inflorescences extending from it - spikelets, facing the axis with the wide side. Each spikelet bears on its axis from two to five successively outgoing flowers, the totality of which is covered from below by two - upper and lower - spikelet scales, which are the covering leaves of a simple inflorescence. Each flower is protected by a pair of specialized bracts - larger and thicker lower and relatively thin upper floral scales. For some, the so-called spinous wheat varieties, the lower flower scales end in a long awn. The flowers are usually bisexual, with three stamens and a pistil bearing two feathery stigmas. At the base of the ovary there are two or three small scales - flower films, or lodicules, equivalent to the perianth. By the time of flowering, they swell and push apart the scales surrounding the flower. Wheat is a mostly self-pollinating plant, although cross-pollination occurs in some types. After fertilization, the ovary turns into a small hard fruit, a caryopsis, held in the ear by flower scales. The caryopsis, or grain, is a pericarp formed from the wall of the ovary, inextricably linked to a single seed that contains the embryo and endosperm. The embryo is located on the side at the base of the grain and consists of a bud, a root and a modified cotyledon adjacent to the endosperm - the scutellum. After germination, the embryonic root will give rise to the primary root system, the bud will give rise to the above-ground organs of the plant and its “adult” roots, and the scutellum will secrete enzymes that digest the endosperm and conduct its nutrients to the seedling that has begun to develop. The sown grain of wheat absorbs water, swells and germinates. The bud and the embryonic root emerge and grow upward and downward, respectively. At the soil surface, from the first node of the straw formed from the bud, adventitious roots emerge, which vigorously branch and form the so-called. fibrous root system. The transition point between the stem and the root is called the root collar. Just above it, the lower nodes of the stem are closely brought together, and lateral shoots develop from the axils of their leaves near the surface of the soil - wheat tillering occurs. Until this stage, the plant is considered a seedling. Then the phase of exit into the tube begins, i.e. rapid elongation of the straw, followed by heading, i.e. inflorescence formation: the upper internode (peduncle) carries the spike 7-10 cm above the top leaf. When the grain has reached its final size, it contains an embryo and a watery, initially transparent, then becoming white endosperm as the starch content increases (the stage of so-called milk ripeness). Gradually, the moisture content of the grain decreases and its contents begin to resemble sticky dough in consistency (waxy ripeness). Fully ripened (technically ripe) grain is hard.

Main types. Only three types of wheat are of significant economic importance - summer, soft, or ordinary wheat (T. aestivum), durum wheat (T. durum) and dense-eared or dwarf wheat (T. compactum). The first is the common baking wheat grown throughout the world. The second grain is used for the production of pasta because it is rich in gluten - a mixture of proteins that form a sticky mass that not only binds the dough, but also retains carbon dioxide bubbles in it; the dough “rises” and the bread becomes fluffy. Dwarf wheat is mainly used to produce crumbly baked goods. Of lesser importance are spelled wheat (T. spelta), emmer, spelt, or emmer wheat (T. dicoccum), Polish wheat (T. polonicum) and English or fat wheat (T. turgidum). Summer wheat is the most widely grown wheat throughout the world. Its glumes are clearly combed only in the upper half, the lower glumes are awnless or shorter than 10 cm, the culm is usually hollow. It differs from dwarf by longer, more compact or loose, dorsoventrally flattened ears. In dwarf wheat they are short, dense and laterally compressed. Durum wheat is spring; it differs from summer and dwarf wheat by sharp ridges along the entire length of the glumes and usually spinous lower flowering glumes with an awn 10-20 cm long. The straw is non-hollow. It differs from fat wheat only in longer glumes and grains, the latter of which are usually elliptical. In fat wheat, which is practically not grown in America, the grains are short, oval, with truncated tops, so they appear swollen and humpbacked; There are red and white grain varieties. Polish wheat stands out for its appearance. Its spike is large - 15-18 cm long and 2 cm or more wide. The glumes are long, thin, papery, and the grains often reach a length of 13 mm and are very hard. Varieties of this species, like durum wheat, are only spring varieties. Wheat varieties are divided into winter and spring. Winter wheat Sow in the fall and harvest the following summer. It is the most common wheat throughout the world. Starting to develop earlier than spring sown crops, they ripen faster and produce a higher yield. Spring wheat, with the exception of T. durum, is grown in areas where winter is too harsh.

DUUM WHEAT (Triticum durum)

WHEAT (Triticum aestivum)

Collier's Encyclopedia. - Open Society. 2000 .

Synonyms:

Wheat (lat. Triticum) is a herbaceous annual plant of the cereal family; it is the leading and most important grain crop in many countries of the world. This popularity is explained by the fact that wheat grain can be used in completely different ways, which makes it a universal and very valuable food product.

No cereal has such a variety of species and varieties as wheat. Each growing region is famous for its own cultivated species and various varieties. Characteristics of different varieties are given depending on the shape and chemical composition the most important organs of the cereal - the stem and ear. The main division of all wheat varieties occurs according to two criteria - soft and durum varieties.

Composition of wheat

Wheat is a product with high calorie content and nutritional properties; 100 grams of grains contain about 345 kilocalories. The grain contains carbohydrates, proteins, starch, amino acids, including essential ones, minerals and vitamins - mainly group B. Products made from wheat grain are well absorbed by the body, however, people who are overweight or diabetes mellitus, it is not recommended to consume a lot of products made from white refined flour. It is better to opt for bread with bran and products made from durum wheat.

Useful properties

The most important product obtained from wheat grain is flour. This product accounts for almost 30% of all world food. Waste from grain harvesting (bran, chaff, straw, cake) is used as feed for farm animals. Straw is used as a decorative and ornamental material - in India and Asia, mats, curtains, screens, garden furniture, and interior items are made from it everywhere. Whole spikelets are loved by florists all over the world - they decorate bouquets and flower arrangements, used in interior design.

A very useful product for the body is wheat bran. They are added to baked goods, and also produced separately in purified form and used to enrich dishes or for independent consumption. Bran is taken to improve digestion, cleanse the body, and stimulate the gastrointestinal tract.

Bread made from wholemeal flour - including bran - is very useful not only as it contains dietary fiber and ballast substances, but also due to the fact that all vitamins and minerals are contained mainly in the thin shell of the grain, away from the center, that is, in the bran.