Emmer
Triticum turgidum dicoccon
Family: Poaceae or Gramineae
What it is like
Triticum turgidum dicoccon is a ANNUAL. It is not frost tender. It is in flower from June to July, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Wind. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil.
Height (m): 0
Where it is found
Developed through cultivation, it is not known in a truly wild location.
Original habitat is obscure.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 3
Seed - cooked. It is usually ground into a flour and used as a cereal for making bread, biscuits etc. The seed retains its glumes when it is threshed
Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.
Medicine
Rating: 0
Other
Rating:
The straw has many uses, as a biomass for fuel etc, for thatching, as a mulch in the garden etc. A fibre obtained from the stems is used for making paper. The stems are harvested in late summer after the seed has been harvested, they are cut into usable pieces and soaked in clear water for 24 hours. They are then cooked for 2 hours in lye or soda ash and then beaten in a ball mill for 1½ hours in a ball mill. The fibres make a green-tan paper. The starch from the seed is used for laundering, sizing textiles etc. It can also be converted to alcohol for use as a fuel.
Biomass: Provides a large quantity of plant material that can be converted into fuel etc.
Mulch: Used for covering the ground to conserve the nutrients in the soil.
Paper: Related to the entry for Fibre, these plants have been specifically mentioned for paper making.
Starch: Used as a fabric stiffener.
Thatching: Used for making thatched roofs.
How it is grown
An easily grown plant, it succeeds in most well-drained soils in a sunny position. Succeeds in poor rocky and in dry soils. One of the oldest cultivated wheats, it arose over 10,000 years ago through cultivation of the wild emmer, T. dicoccoides. Its cultivation is declining but it is still grown in some mountainous regions of Europe. There are some named varieties. A rather low yielding species compared to modern cultivars. It is believed that a cross between this species and Aegilops squarrosa, probably about 8,000 years ago, introduced an extra protein gene into the seed making a much stronger flour for baking as bread. Most modern species and cultivars of wheat have been developed from this cross. A tetraploid species.
Propagating it: Seed - sow early spring or autumn in situ and only just cover the seed. Germination should take place within a few days.
Best place to grow: Cultivated Beds;
Habit: Annual
Hardiness:
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: No shade
Moisture: Dry, moist