Triticum

Plant Characteristics

Habit		grass
Lifespan:	⌛	annual

Cultivation

Scientific Names

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Wheat (Triticum spp.) is a grass, originally from the Fertile Crescent region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide.

ExpandRead about Triticum in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Triticum (old Latin name for wheat). Gramineae. The genus as now limited comprises 2 sections, Aegilops, with 12 species of S. Eu. and Asia, one of which is thought by some to be the original of the cult. wheats; and Triticum proper, which includes wheats and spelts themselves, that are referred by Hackel to 3 species. Annual grasses with fls. in a terminal spike: spikelets 2-5-fld., placed flat-wise, singly on opposite sides of a zigzag rachis; glumes ovate, 3- to many-nerved, these and the lemmas more or less awned: grain free. The common wheat is T. aestivum, Linn. (T. sativum, Lam. T. vulgare, Vill.). T. Richardsonii, Trin. Under the name Cryptopyrum Richardsonii, Schrad., this species has sometimes been catalogued by seedsmen as an ornamental plant. It is a perennial with a slender nodding spike of awned spikelets. The species properly belongs in Agropyron (A. Richardsonii, Schrad.) and resembles the wild A. caninum, Linn., with which some authors unite it. It is native from Que. across the continent. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Cultivation

While winter wheat lies dormant during a winter freeze, wheat normally requires between 110 and 130 days between planting and harvest, depending upon climate, seed type, and soil conditions.

Propagation

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Pests and diseases

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Species

Major cultivated species of wheat===

• Common wheat or Bread wheat — (T. aestivum) A hexaploid species that is the most widely cultivated in the world.
• Durum — (T. durum) The only tetraploid form of wheat widely used today, and the second most widely cultivated wheat.
• Einkorn — (T. monococcum) A diploid species with wild and cultivated variants. Domesticated at the same time as emmer wheat, but never reached the same importance.
• Emmer — (T. dicoccum) A tetraploid species, cultivated in ancient times but no longer in widespread use.
• Spelt — (T. spelta) Another hexaploid species cultivated in limited quantities.

Classes used in the United States are

• Durum — Very hard, translucent, light colored grain used to make semolina flour for pasta.
• Hard Red Spring — Hard, brownish, high protein wheat used for bread and hard baked goods. Bread Flour and high gluten flours are commonly made from hard red spring wheat. It is primarily traded at the Minneapolis Grain Exchange.
• Hard Red Winter — Hard, brownish, mellow high protein wheat used for bread, hard baked goods and as an adjunct in other flours to increase protein in pastry flour for pie crusts. Some brands of unbleached all-purpose flours are commonly made from hard red winter wheat alone. It is primarily traded by the Kansas City Board of Trade. One variety is known as "turkey red wheat", and was brought to Kansas by Mennonite immigrants from Russia.
• Soft Red Winter — Soft, low protein wheat used for cakes, pie crusts, biscuits, and muffins. Cake flour, pastry flour, and some self-rising flours with baking powder and salt added for example, are made from soft red winter wheat. It is primarily traded by the Chicago Board of Trade.
• Hard White — Hard, light colored, opaque, chalky, medium protein wheat planted in dry, temperate areas. Used for bread and brewing.
• Soft White — Soft, light colored, very low protein wheat grown in temperate moist areas. Used for pie crusts and pastry. Pastry flour, for example, is sometimes made from soft white winter wheat.

Gallery

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

• w:Triticum. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Triticum QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)