Triticum aestivum

An annual grass reaching 1.5 m in height. Non-frost tender with flowers June to July and seed ripening August to September. Wind-pollinated hermaphroditic flowers. Tolerates light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils; prefers well-drained conditions and mildly acid, neutral, or mildly alkaline pH. Requires full sun, moist soil, and withstands strong winds but not maritime exposure.

Description

An annual grass. It easily forms tillers to produce a clump of shoots. Plants grow between 30 and 80 cm tall. The stems are erect and simple. They are usually without hairs. The stems have 5-7 nodes and are hollow between these. The leaf sheath is wrapped around the stem. It is entire at the lower section but split further up. The strap like part where the leaf blade forms is colourless and jagged. The blade is flat, narrow and pointed. It is about 20-37 cm long and 1.2 cm wide. The veins are parallel. The flower stalk or ear is at the end of the stem as a compound spike. It is 5-10 cm long. There are 2 rows of spikelets along each side. Usually 2 grains per spike develop and these are oval with a groove along the centre. There is a tuft of hairs at the end. There are more than 25,000 cultivated varieties.

Edible Uses

The seed is cooked and can be used whole, but is most commonly ground into flour for making bread, fermented foods, pasta, cakes, and biscuits. Its high gluten content makes it the most widely used flour for bread-making. The seed can also be sprouted and added to salads, or juiced to make a nutritious drink. Per 100g fresh weight, the seed provides 340 calories, with 13% water, 11.7g protein, 2.2g fat, 72g carbohydrate, 2g fibre, and 1.7g ash. Minerals include calcium 40mg, phosphorus 377mg, iron 3.5mg, and potassium 400mg. Vitamins include thiamine (B1) 0.55mg, riboflavin (B2) 0.11mg, and niacin 4.8mg. These figures represent the median of a reported range.

Traditional Uses

Wheat is mostly ground for flour. It is used for bread, chapaties and a range of doughs and cakes. It is used in fermented and unfermented products. Chapati flour usually comes from low gluten varieties. The seeds can be eaten as a cereal. It can be made into flakes, puffed, shredded and other forms or breakfast cereal. Wheat that is parboiled, dried and cracked is sold as tabouli. Young seedlings are juiced and used as wheatgrass drink.

Medicinal Uses

The young stems are used in the treatment of biliousness and intoxication. Ash from the plant is applied to remove skin blemishes. The fruit is antipyretic and sedative. The light grain is antihydrotic and used in the treatment of night sweats and spontaneous sweating. The seed is said to contain sex hormones and has been used in China to promote female fertility. Seed sprouts are antibilious, antivinous, and constructive, used to treat malaise, sore throat, thirst, abdominal coldness, spasmic pain, constipation, and cough. The plant also has anticancer properties.

Distribution

A temperate plant. It is grown at higher altitudes in the subtropics and tropics. In East Africa most wheat is grown between 1,600 and 3,000 m altitude. The best temperature for germination is about 29°C and the minimum temperature about 4°C. Under good conditions seeds germinate in about 4-5 days. In Nepal it grows to about 3,000 m altitude. Wheat can be grown to 57°N in Britain. Most wheat is grown between latitudes 30° and 60° north and between 30° and 40° south. It suits hardiness zones 9-11.

Where It Grows

Africa, Afghanistan, Albania, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Asia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Balkans, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Britain, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Canada, Caucasus, Central Africa, Central America, Central Asia, Chad, China, Congo DR, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Europe, Falklands, Fiji, France, Georgia, Germany, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mediterranean, Mexico, Middle East, Moldova, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, North Africa, North America, Norway, Pacific, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Rwanda, Scandinavia, SE Asia, Serbia, Siberia, Sikkim, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Spain, Sudan, Swaziland, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tasmania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Trigo, Turkey, Türkiye, Uganda, Ukraine, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

Seed should be sown into a clean weed free seedbed. Seeds can be broadcast or drilled. Seed should be 2.5-5 cm deep and plants 20-25 cm apart.

Propagation

Sow seed in early spring or autumn directly in situ, barely covering it. Germination should occur within a few days.

Other Uses

The straw serves many purposes, including as a biomass fuel, thatching material, and garden mulch. Fibre extracted from the stems can be used to make paper: stems are harvested in late summer after seed collection, cut into usable pieces, soaked in clear water for 24 hours, cooked for 2 hours in lye or soda ash, then beaten in a ball mill for 1½ hours, producing a green-tan paper. Starch from the seed is used for laundering and sizing textiles.

Production

Spring wheat has a growing period of 100 days or more. The rainfall of most wheat areas is 750 mm per year or less. In the tropics maturity varies between 95 and 150 days. Yields of 1,420 kg per ha are world average.

Other Information

It has been tried in trials in the equatorial highlands but most wheat is imported. It is a major import into Papua New Guinea. Wheat is a cultivated food plant and one of the major cereals of the world.

Notes

There are about 30 Triticum species. It is an allohexaploid. Caution: Wheat grown in hotter more arid areas is higher in gluten causing coeliacs. And highly processed wheat flour eaten in large amounts causes obesity.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Ble, Frumento, Gahum, Gahun, Gahung, Gam, Gandham, Gandum, Gawn, Gehun, Gendum, Ghavum, Giun, Godamba, Godhi, Godhuma, Godumai, Godumbayarisi, Gom, Goodhumalu, Govum, Gro, Gyon, Kanak, Khorbali, Kotanpam, Ngano, Pshenica, Saatweizen, Tirigu, Trigo, Xaio mai

References (57)

• Ali, A. M. S., 2005, Homegardens in Smallholder Farming Systems: Examples from Bangladesh. Human Ecology, Vol. 33, No. 2 pp. 245-270 (As Triticum vulgare)
• Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 653
• Anderson, E. F., 1993, Plants and people of the Golden Triangle. Dioscorides Press. p 223
• Beckstrom-Sternberg, Stephen M., and James A. Duke. "The Foodplant Database." http://probe.nalusda.gov:8300/cgi-bin/browse/foodplantdb.(ACEDB version 4.0 - data version July 1994)
• Belay, G., 2006. Triticum aestivum L. [Internet] Record from Protabase. Brink, M. & Belay, G. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa), Wageningen, Netherlands. < http://database.prota.org/search.htm>. Accessed 23 October 2009

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