Aptitude of emmer and einkorn varieties for cultivation

Though suitable for breadmaking, einkorn and emmer wheat are hulled grains that are nowadays largely neglected. These cereals are frugal and robust and characterised by high levels of minerals and other elements beneficial for health in the grain. Cultivation of these cereals is feasible, but in-depth knowledge of their agronomic and technical values is indispensable. In this paper, seven and eleven registered accessions and varieties of einkorn and emmer wheat, respectively, were tested and compared with three varieties of soft wheat and three of durum wheat. The results show that the cultivation of certain varieties of these cereals is possible if they are grown with little nitrogen. Nevertheless, yield levels for these two species are lower than those of wheat varieties, and lodging is a problem in emmer wheat cultivation, even with low levels of nitrogen fertilisation.