GRAIN, FLOUR, AND DOUGH CHARACTERISTICS OF SELECTED STRAINS OF DIPLOID WHEAT, TRITICUM-MONOCOCCUM L

The grain, flour, and dough quality of 12 germ plasm accessions of dom esticated diploid wheat, Triticum monococcum L. (''einkorn''), were in vestigated and compared with those of modern cultivars of T. durum and common wheat. Entries were assayed for kernel weight, test weight, ye llow berry incidence, flour yield, whole meal ash and protein content, flour particle size, sodium dodecyl sulphate sedimentation volume, an d alveograph parameters as well as for protein, gluten, ash, and carot ene content of flours. Flour yields of einkorn wheats were analogous t o those of common wheat cultivars and far greater than those of durum wheats. Gluten from T monococcum was weak, scarcely extensible, and ra ther sticky; it had a lower water-retention capacity than that of comm on and durum wheats. Reduced grain dimensions, high ash content, small flour particle size, and extremely high carotene content were additio nal distinctive features of the diploid wheats examined. The remarkabl y wide range of values observed for most of these attributes indicated that T. monococcum strains better suited for producing the commonest wheat-based aliments could probably be identified in more extensive su rveys or be obtained by breeding. Developing free-threshing commercial cultivars of diploid wheat offers opportunities in foodstuff diversif ication, coeliac disease prevention, animal feed, the production of pr otein-rich foods, and in the exploitation of novel endosperm mutants.