Appropriate seeding rate for einkorn, emmer, and spelt grown under rainfed condition in southern Italy

摘要

Einkorn (Triticum monococcum L.), emmer (Triticum dicoccum Schubler) and spelt (T. spelta L.) are still cultivated in Italy. These three hulled wheat species are more commonly known as "Farro". Little is known about agronomic practices that optimise the grain yield of these species. This study has been carried out to establish the appropriate seeding rate for einkorn, emmer and spelt which is grown in southern Italy (Apulia region), a typical Mediterranean environment, where durum wheat is principally cultivated. Two years of experimental field trials were conducted with three seeding rates (100, 150 and 200 viable seeds per square meter). Emmer had the highest hulled grain yield (3.54 t ha-1) followed by spell (2.80 t ha-1) and einkorn (1.42 t ha-1). Emmer also had a higher kernel weight and was heading earlier than the other species. The bad performance of einkorn can be accountable to the excessive time to reach heading and the natural inclination of plants to lodge, factors that reduce the ability of plant to complete grain ripening, resulting in light and shrivelled kernels. The lower grain yield of spelt in comparison to emmer may be due to later heading. Emmer and spelt performed the best when they were sown at 200 seeds m-2 (3.85 and 3.09 t ha-1, respectively). In contrast, einkorn showed the highest grain yield (1.69 t ha-1) at the lowest seeding rate (100 seeds m-2). Further, additional experimentation is required to confirm this. These results indicate that emmer is the most appropriate hulled wheat species for cropping under southern Italy's growing conditions, and provide further information about the use of these species in the marginal area preservation or when the cultivation of economically profitable crops is precludes by water deficiency and soil poorness. Copyright 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.