Download - Diversifood innovation factsheet#5 Rivet Wheat€¦ · English wheat - is a free-threshing tetraploid cereal, which differentiated throughout the Neolithic era from other descendants

Origin of Rivet wheat

CerealsareacornerstoneofEuropeanagriculture,culture and diets. Among them, Rivet wheat(Triticumturgidum)-alsonamedPoulard,ConeorEnglishwheat-isafree-threshingtetraploidcereal,which differentiated throughout the Neolithic erafrom other descendants of domesticated emmer(Triticum Dicoccon) like Durum, Polish, KhorasanandPersianwheat.ArchaeologicalfindingssuggestthatRivetwheat'sspreadfromFertileCrescentandarrivedinEuropebytheMediterraneanroute.

Why a forgotten crop? Its limits and qualitiesAcross its evolutionary process in cold and mountainous environments, Rivet wheatacquiredagoodtolerancetofrost,windandhumidity.Ithasthecapacitytogrowinpoorsoils,showsastrongweedcompetitivenessandagoodresistancetodiseases.Consistentlywith the hardness of the kernel, it has been traditionally used for pasta and biscuitelaboration.

A beam of rustic features revealed inappropriate to the industrialization of agriculture.Onceappreciatedtorepeallargepredators,barbschallengethemechanizedthreshing.Onrich soils, Rivet wheat's long straw (1.80m) causelodging, an additional factor of abandon at a timewhenitsuseforcattlefeedingfacedthecompetencyof imported soya bean. Compared to newly bredvarieties,Rivetwheatoccupythefieldsduringalongperiod(fromOctober-NovembertoAugust),presentsanunevenripening,alateheadingandamodestyield(from 2 to 2.5 tones per hectare). Regarding laterprocessing, colour as well as physical properties ofthegraindidn'tfitwiththemodernstandardsforbreadandpastamaking.

Thankstogoodperformancefororganicfarmingthatgoesalongwithpositivefeedbacksfromconsumers,Rivetwheatattractstodaytheinterestofsomefarmers,processorsandsellers.

DIVERSIFOODapproachtothisissueAnexplorationofRivetwheatsituationatthepresenttimeinFrancehasbeencarriedtohighlightactorsandformsoforganization,involvedknowledgeandpractices,emergingquestionsandfirstanswers.Aparallelstepwastoorganizethenetworksoffarmersand

DIVERSIFOOD INNOVATION FACTSHEET #5, June 2018

ATFIRSTGLANCE

Duringthe20thcentury,landracesofvariouswheatformsweregraduallysubstitutedby

standardizedpurelinesofsoftanddurumwheat.Inthatcontext,Rivetwheatcaseillustratesthecontemporaryresurgenceofforgottencropsinorganic

farming.

THERIVETWHEAT

pasta,biscuitorbreadmakersinterestedinRivetwheat.Interactingwithproducersandprocessers' experience, a global analysis (agronomic, technological, nutritional andsensorial) describes Rivetwheat's diversity and general qualities, focuses on its limitsandbenefits,evaluatesthepotentialtointeractwiththebioticenvironment.

DIVERSIFOODresultsregardingthisissueIn France, an overviewof the network of farmers that growRivet nowadays has been

drawn.Since2006,differentgroups(GABBAnjou,GAB65)started taking out severalwheat varieties from differentGermplasm Banks. They multiplied the samples,eventually created population mixtures and operatedselection in away that initiated co-adaptation processesbetweenseeds,environmentandpractices.Informalseedtransfer could rely on network-shaped associations (as“Réseau Semences Paysannes). As a resultmore than 30landracesarebeingmultipliedindifferentregions.InTheNetherlands,fromfiveaccessionsadaptedtolocalclimate,lodging susceptible due to high ear weight, accessionswereselectedin2016/17.InUK,firsttrialsatDovesfarm

in southern England revealed overall good performance. More than 200 farmersparticipated to showcase of selected Rivet varieties at a National Organic CombinableCropseventin2017.

Technological analysesof landraces showagreatvariabilityofkernelhardness, glutenand global protein content, gliadin/glutenin ratio and other parameters conditioningphysical properties of grain. That makes Rivet wheat theoretically suitable for bothbakeryandpasta/pastrymaking.Consistently,bakersobservedsignificantdifferencesinelasticity and extensibility among the varieties they tested. Some of them judge thedough too strong and mix Rivet with soft wheat to facilitate preparation while stillbringingnewaromastotheirbread.Indeed,theydetectedareleaseofspecialaromasatearly stages of the preparation. During the bread testing sessions that operatedcomparisons between soft/durum wheat and Rivet wheat, tasters noticed moreperfumed,biscuit-likeandtendentiouslymoreacidicflavoursofRivetwheat,associatedwithdifferencesoftexture,amorebrownishcolourandadensercrumb.

Thewayforward1 -DIVERSIFOODwill extend the investigationnewsourcesofdiversityexploringpastuses of potential interest, focusing on Rivet wheat origin and evolution, assessingavailablelandracesalreadyinfarmsorstill inGermplasmBanks.Fieldexperimentsarecomplementing farmers’ initiatives - the 197 rivet accessions founded in Spanish seedconservatoryarebeingtestedandmultiplied.Otheraccessionswillbeevaluatedsoon.

2 - Promising innovations related to cultivation andprocessing are to explore. WhichadaptationsofdoughpreparationandfermentationallowtoobtainagoodbreadvolumeandtostickouttheappreciatedorganolepticcharacteristicsofRivetflour?Howcanthedifferent behaviours andqualities ofRivet landraces canbe translated into a coherentarrayofselectionstrategies?

This InnovationFactsheet is the resultof the collectiveworkofDIVERSIFOODpartners, coordinatedbyVéroniqueChable(INRA)withthesupportofRaquelMartin-Castillo,PauldelaGrandville,AntoineCormery(INRA),AmbrogioCostanzo(ORC)etEstelleSerpolay-Besson(ITAB).