Research Information System
CURRENT TRENDS IN NATURAL SCIENCES, vol.5, no.9, pp.115-119, 2016 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
Emmer (Triticum dicoccum) and einkorn (T. monococcum) cultivation has a long history in Anatolia. The crops,
cultivated in Anatolia over thousands years, can still be found in some parts of the country, especially Develi in the
Kayseri province. The total cultivation area of these crops was around 36 000 ha in 2015. The species is mainly
cultivated in sloping and marginal lands by poor farmers, where no other crops can be economically grown. Cultivation
area is rapidly declining, and if such trend continues, hulled wheats will be shortly completely wiped out from Turkey.
Present-day distribution of emmer and spelt within Turkey is concentrated in countryside areas of Develi where
traditional farming systems still survive. This group of wheats is called in Turkish the general name of ‘kaplìca’ which
means ‘covered’ or ‘hulled’. More specifically, the tetraploid species (emmer) is called ‘gacer’ in the Develi. Being a
low-yielding type of wheat, emmer was replaced by other improved varieties of Triticum. This decrease was mainly due
to the widespread use of improved cultivars of wheat and the adoption of new agricultural techniques, but also to social
and economic factors. In fact, wheat yielded 2840 t/ha, whereas hulled wheats yielded 1200 t/ha. The cultivation of
these two crops shows disadvantages that relate to the harvesting techniques used and the need to dehisce the spikelets
to obtain the grain for human consumption. The increasing interest in low-input systems due to the actual ecological
and economical situation has led to a growing interest in specific genetic variability. Organic agriculture and health
food products have been gaining increasing popularity that has led to a renewed interest in hulled wheat species such
as emmer and spelt. The objective of this study was to estimate agronomical and grain quality characteristics of some
Turkey (Develi) emmer landraces. This effort was motivated by the fact that autochthonous materials are at risk of
being lost.