Talk:Einkorn wheat

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Talk
MrOllie, I read over the external and spam guidelines. That was very helpful. I do think the external link I have added is relevant to the following pages and is not a violation of the guidelines you have provided. It is a credible source dedicated to research on the topic. I may need to rephrase how I refer to the site and would like any feedback you can provide. I am thinking I should refer to it as "Einkorn.com - Researching Ancient Einkorn Wheat". This this be acceptable? Jkoyle (talk) 05:48, 7 January 2010 (UTC)

Here are the pages that think should contain a link to Einkorn.com: Einkorn_wheat; Farro; Taxonomy_of_wheat. I would appreciate any input you can give on this. Jkoyle (talk) 05:58, 7 January 2010 (UTC)
 * It is a blog, and per WP:ELNO point 11 should not be linked. Please don't add it again. - MrOllie (talk) 15:01, 7 January 2010 (UTC)
 * I understand why wikipedia would not links to blogs on their site. Although einkorn.com contains a blog, it is not a blog website, it is the official research site for einkorn wheat.  I think we need to take a deeper look at this inclusion.  In fact, I believe it belongs at the top of the list of external links based upon the external links guidelines.  "Some acceptable links include those that contain further research that is accurate and on-topic, information that could not be added to the article for reasons such as copyright or amount of detail, or other meaningful, relevant content that is not suitable for inclusion in an article for reasons unrelated to its accuracy."  "If several external links are listed and the subject of the article is a living person, organization, web service, or otherwise has an official website, it is normal practice to place the link to that site at the top of the list (if it is not already in an appropriate infobox)."Jkoyle (talk) 22:57, 9 January 2010 (UTC)
 * How does a 9,000 year old grain have an official site? - MrOllie (talk) 13:04, 10 January 2010 (UTC)
 * Well...the internet was only invented by Al Gore :) a few years ago. The internet has opened communications, allowing for a more free flow of communication from people who are passionate and willing to invest in researching and publishing a topic that most people would not be willing to put in their time to research. It's like wikipedia in some ways where good content prevails instead of being regulated by self-serving authorities.  That's why I believe wikipedia is the official wikipedia and why Einkorn.com is the official web site for einkorn wheat. Jkoyle (talk) 01:41, 12 January 2010 (UTC)
 * So in other words, it isn't an offical site and that aspect of WP:EL does not apply. I don't think we'll be adding the link. - MrOllie (talk) 15:15, 12 January 2010 (UTC)

Likely Misleading
It seems unlikely that the number of chromosomes is the factor that makes the gluten in Einkorn less noxious to gluten-sensitive people compared to other wheat varieties. More likely there is a difference in only one or a few genes that code for gliadins and glutinins that would make this difference. If it turns out to be true that Einkorn glutin is less noxious:

http://www.springerlink.com/content/a4v7gu778875m42q/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by Giftedlyarsenine (talk • contribs) 20:04, 4 November 2011 (UTC)

POV "toxicity"
The header "Nutrition and gluten toxicity" (using the word "toxicity") is both misleading and POV. Gluten sensitivity does not fall under "toxic" which seems to be a bit of POV pushing, and gluten sensitivity is an issue for a small subset of humans, not humans generally. The header should be rephrased to something less inflammatory. — al-Shimoni  (talk) 20:09, 17 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Seems like a reasonable opinion to me. I changed "toxicity" to "intolerance."  Smallchief (talk  22:05, 17 May 2017 (UTC)

"rising characteristics desirable for bread"
What are these "rising characteristics desirable for bread"?--Richardson mcphillips (talk) 00:34, 4 June 2017 (UTC)


 * This article is dead wrong on a few counts. People, including me, use this grain to make brain regularly. And though I am allergic to gluten, I am able to eat this and feel fantastic. Here is an entire page full of pictures of Einkorn bread   petrarchan47  คุ  ก   22:20, 1 August 2017 (UTC)

Additional information
Here some information to add on the introductory part of the page:

Einkorn was then replaced by common wheat (Triticum aestivum L., 2n = 6x = 42) and durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf., 2n = 4x = 28), due to their higher yield and free-threshing properties. Today, einkorn is only cultivated on a small area in southern Europe and Turkey, mostly under low-input and/or organic farming systems. However, the interest for einkorn is growing again, along with the demand for traditional foods that combine naturalness and healthiness.

We added also some information to the "History" section (indicated here in italic):

Triticum monococcum L. was domesticated from Triticum boeticum'' which is the wild species of einkorn. The wild and the domesticated forms can be considered as separate species, or as subspecies of T. monococcum. The cultivated form is similar to the wild, except that the seeds are larger and that the ear stays intact.'' The principal difference between wild einkorn and cultivated einkorn is the method of seed dispersal. In the wild variety the seed head usually shatters and drops the kernels (seeds) of wheat onto the ground. This facilitates a new crop of wheat. In the domestic variety, the seed head remains intact.'' While such a mutation may occasionally occur in the wild, it is not viable there in the long term: the intact seed head will only drop to the ground when the stalk rots, and the kernels will not scatter but form a tight clump which inhibits germination and makes the mutant seedlings susceptible to disease. But harvesting einkorn with intact seed heads was easier for early human harvesters, who could then manually break apart the seed heads and scatter any kernels not eaten. Over time and through selection, conscious or unconscious, the human preference for intact seed heads created the domestic variety, which also has slightly larger kernels than wild einkorn. Domesticated einkorn thus requires human planting and harvesting for its continuing existence. This process of domestication might have taken only 20 to 200 years with the end product a wheat easier for humans to harvest.

Einkorn wheat is one of the earliest cultivated forms of wheat, alongside emmer wheat (T. dicoccum). Hunter gatherers in the Fertile Crescent may have started harvesting einkorn as long as 30,000 years ago, according to archaeological evidence from Syria. Although gathered from the wild for thousands of years, einkorn wheat was first domesticated approximately 10,000 years BC in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) or B (PPNB) periods. Evidence from DNA fingerprinting suggests einkorn was first domesticated around 7500 BC near Karaca Dağ in southeast Turkey, an area in which a number of PPNB farming villages have been found.

An important characteristic facilitating the domestication of einkorn and other annual grains is that the plants are largely self-pollinating. Thus, the desirable (for human management) traits of einkorn could be perpetuated at less risk of cross-fertilization with wild plants which might have traits—e.g. smaller seeds, shattering seed heads, etc. -- less desirable for human management.

From the northern part of the Fertile Crescent, the cultivation of einkorn wheat spread to the Caucasus, the Balkans, and central Europe. Einkorn wheat was more commonly grown in cooler climates than emmer wheat, the other domesticated wheat. Cultivation of einkorn in the Middle East began to decline in favor of emmer wheat around 2000 BC. Cultivation of einkorn was never extensive in Italy, southern France, and Spain. Einkorn continued to be cultivated in some areas of northern Europe throughout the Middle Ages and until the early part of the 20th century. ''Recently Einkorn was resumed in some areas of Western Europe because of increasing interest for organic ancient wheat. Hulled wheat species like einkorn, emmer and spelt are presumed to be an alternative to bread wheat in organic agriculture since the yield penalty is less pronounced under organic farming production. Furthermore generally higher prices can be achieved for speciality grains. ''

We suggest to add a section named "Properties and uses of einkorn" with the following information:

Nutrient contents
Macronutrients: Micronutrients:
 * Fats: Einkorn compared to bread wheat contains higher concentration of fat which is likely connected to smaller seed size. Triticum monococcum L. also contains a smaller amount of saturated and an higher amount of unsaturated fatty acids in contrast to common wheat, which makes it healthier. Linoleic acid corresponds to 50.8% of total fatty acids and oleic acid to 24.8%.
 * Carbohydrates: The starch content of Einkorn is lower compared to common wheat.
 * Proteins: Einkorn contains an high concentration of proteins compared to bread wheat, but because of is small harvest index, the protein production per area is really low. Einkorn also contains gluten, but in a different structure than wheat or emmer. This difference in the gluten structure may be the reason why einkorn does not affect those with gluten intolerance as much as other wheat. Genome composition can partially explain the variation in celiac immunoreactivity among species of wheat: Triticum monococcum L. has only the A genome of wheat and lack the B, C and D genomes. Several highly immunogenic α-gliadins are encoded by the D genome of wheat and the fewest α-gliadin epitopes implicated in celiac disease are present in the B genome. Unfortunately, the D genome is also responsible for expressing most of the HMW proteins that are essential for bread-making quality. Consequently einkorn is not equipped with the gluten profile for bread baking.

Einkorn contains an high amount of lipophilic antioxidants (carotenoids and tocopherols) and a lot of hydrophilic antioxidants (phenols and Se). The major carotenoid contained in einkorn is lutein; Shewry and Hey in 2015 reported that Triticum monococcum L. contains a mean of 7.28 mg/g dry weight lutein compared with 1.55 mg/g dry weight for bread wheat. In an other study was shown that Einkorn contains more zeaxanthin and beta-carotene than emmer and spring wheat. In the same study was also found that einkorn also contains a lot of tocotrienols which have a high impact on antioxidant activity.

Product use and processing technology
In Turkey, einkorn is mainly used to prepare bulgur. Bulgur production and consumption have increased because of its low cost, shelf life, easy preparation and good nutritional value. To obtain bulgur the cleaned spikelets are boiled, sun dried, dehulled, ground and finally sifted into distinct size particles. A stone mill was traditionally used to separate glumes from the grains. However generally this system was also crushing the grain into pieces. Glumes were then removed by ventilation and groats sifted into distinct particles sizes.

Einkorn is a popular food in northern Provence (France). It is also used as animal feed in mountainous areas of France, India, Italy, Morocco, the former Yugoslavia, Turkey and other countries.

Another section could be about production of einkorn:

Soil and climate requirements
Einkorn is often called an almost wild cereal because it has not high demands on its environment. It is not sensible to the day length but more to the soil humidity and temperature. It is promoted to be cultivated on low fertile soils in border areas. However einkorn can suffer under waterlogging and temperatures below -10°C.

Cultivation management
Einkorn can be sown with ordinary cereal sowing machines in spring, autumn or winter. The best previous crops for einkorn are field grain legumes and sunflower. Other cereals are not recommended because they share the same weeds, diseases and pests. If the soil is dry after harvesting the previous crop, disking with heavy disks can exchange ploughing for seedbed preparation. However in winter and spring einkorn sowing, ploughing at a shallow depth of 12-15 cm is mandatory. The goal is to have an aerated, weed-free and stubble-free seedbed when sowing. Usually non-hulled seeds are sown, which are better protected to soil pathogens. 12-18 kg seeds per 1000 m2 are sown at a sowing depth of 4-5 cm.

Einkorn grows and develops slowly in the early development stages. During this period the crop is vulnerable to weeds. In case of broadleaf weeds it is recommended to use herbicides based on the active substance 2.4 D.

It is recommended to fertilize einkorn with 10 kg ammonium nitrate / 1000 m2 during the tillering stage when the previous crop, for example sunflower, severely exhausted the soil. When the previous crop is a legume, fertilizing is not required.

Fungicides are usually not required, because einkorn shows high resistance to most fungi-related diseases.

Harvest and post-harvest treatment
Einkorn is harvested between the vegetative stages wax and full maturity (moisture content 12-14%). It is unadvisable to wait for full maturity. Then the seeds crumble easily and can fall out during threshing. The harvest can be carried out with a conventional combine harvester with a drum speed of 400-500 rpm / min. After dehulling the seeds with a disk mill, they become ready for flour production.

The yield of 20-40 dt / ha (not dehulled) is much lower than wheat yield under the same conditions (40-70 dt / ha) and can vary strongly over different years.

The last suggestion is to create an additional chapter about biology:

Growth, development and physiology
It exists more than 5000 accessions of einkorn, with a high variation in traits, but only few are cultivated today. There could be significant differences between locations and among samples of different origin for most traits. In general, heading date is earlier for einkorns from continental Europe than for those from Mediterranean countries. In southern Europe the kernels of einkorns seem to have a bigger weight than those of northern regions, and also the number of spikelets per spike increased from south to north.

One of the main characteristics of einkorn is the presence of tough glumes that remain attached to the grain after threshing. Einkorn has dark-green, weakly pubescent coleoptiles, which contain anthocyans. The plant is tall (60–130 cm), which can cause an increased risk of lodging (falling down or even breaking of the stalk of plants caused by wind, rain, or other events in the field). It has a semi-erect posture at tillering and an erected posture from heading stage until maturity. It also has many tillers.

Einkorn has a long growth cycle, compared to other cultivated wheat species. It is a typical inbreeder, but sometimes outcrossing is observed.

Pests and diseases
Einkorn, particularly the populations in the mediterran group, has many traits of resistance to fungal diseases, under which stem rust, leaf rust, stripe rust, powdery mildew, common bunt, loose smut, Fusarium culmorum, root rot, eyespot and scab. Some accessions were also found to have resistance genes against the cereal cyst nematode and the root lesion nematode. Einkorn could also be interesting as a source of resistance to Hessian fly, fruit fly and aphids.

Genetic preconditions for breeding and breeding aims
The utilization of einkorn is mainly limited by its hulledness and low yield. However, its use is expected to increase in the future, as genes of cultivated einkorn could help to cope with new wheat diseases through the use of genetic resistances. Despite being a potential source of many resistances, its low crossability with durum and bread wheat has however considerably limited its breeding use with these species. The problem could however be overcome by using tetraploid einkorn amphiploids, which could be created with the use of colchicine. Thanks to that, the transfer of useful traits from einkorn into cultivated wheats and triticale became much easier.

Einkorn is already used in many breeding programs. The ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas) uses it to improve rust resistance, earliness and early vigor in durum wheat. The Agricultural Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences wants to transfer biotic stresses resistance and frost tolerance into bread wheat. Breeding programs in Canada, Germany, Italy or some other European countries aim to produce new einkorn lines with higher yields, free threshing and adapted to the modern cultivation systems. Australian scientists have succeeded in breeding the salt-tolerance feature of T. monococcum into durum wheat.

Einkorn can also be used as a model for wheat genomic studies because of its small diploid genome which facilitates the genetic dissection of phenotype-genotype relationships. Therefore, it could play an important role for QTL mapping and gene discovery.

The genetic diversity of Einkorn is however threatened by its disappearance in some countries. Conservation programs have to be developed to protect this diversity.

Since the information about current use and the comparison with common wheat are already mentioned in the new parts that we wrote, we suggest to delete the last two sections of the original page, "Einkorn vs. common modern wheat varieties" and "Current use".


 * First, new Talk conversations go to the bottom of the Talk page; WP:TALK. Second, sign and timestamp your conversations by using the pencil icon at the top left of the edit box. Third, who are "we"? If you are a class of students, please practice editing first in your sandbox. You need more practice and care with English, as much of the above has weak or careless grammar. Fourth, introduce individual sections one at a time to the Talk page so other editors can review and contribute to it. Keep it brief and concise, as much of the above is too detailed for an encyclopedia; see WP:NOTTEXTBOOK. --Zefr (talk) 16:04, 11 December 2017 (UTC)

rate of gluten in einkorn
In the french Wikipedia article on GLUTEN, it is said that einkorn has a lower gluten content than modern wheat: « Les céréales à forte teneur en gluten sont l'épeautre (10 à 12 g / 100 g de farine type 630), le blé tendre (8 à 10 g / 100 g de farine de type 405), le blé khorasan (Kamut) et le blé dur (12 à 14 g). Le seigle (3,2 g / 100 g de farine de type 815), l'avoine (5,6 g / 100 g de farine de grains entiers), l'orge (5,6 g / 100 g de grains entiers décortiqués), le blé hérisson et l'engrain (7 g) contiennent moins de gluten. » Engrain = Einkorn = 7 g / 100g of flour. Blé = Wheat = 10 to 14 g / 100g. But in the english article on EINKORN https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einkorn_wheat, it is said : « Einkorn does contain gluten and has a higher percentage of protein than modern red wheats ». Which article is correct ? Is einkorn contains more or less gluten than wheat ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Duckkcud (talk • contribs) 15:03, 21 January 2020 (UTC)

Gluten myths
I have used spelt and einkorn for ten years. Well over 35,000 pounds of flour although mostly spelt. I can let the dough raise twice. That's it. What does that tell you ? First it tells me that doctor's have jumped on the bandwagon of gluten intolerance by merely saying that spelt and einkorn have gluten. The question is why only twice ? Meaning 2 or 3 hours is all you have to let your bread rise and it not be a brick. 37.166.16.21 (talk) — Preceding undated comment added 07:53, 14 September 2022 (UTC)

Did not realize I was not signed in. This is my post Catweasel (talk) 07:58, 14 September 2022 (UTC)