Characteristics of meal from hulled wheats (Triticum dicoccon Schrank and T-spelta L): An evaluation of selected accessions

Fifty accessions of Triticum dicoccon (emmer) and 37 accessions of T. spelta (spelt) selected from a germplasm collection were evaluated and compared with cultivars of T durum. For each sample, the chemical composition of the whole meal was determined. The carotene and gluten content, the hydration capacity of gluten were determined, and the sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) test was also performed. A wide variability of all tested traits was observed for both species. Emmer and spelt were found to differ mainly for gluten, bran, and SDS value. Higher contents of bran were typical of emmer, while spelt was characterized by higher values of gluten, and SDS test values. The experimental data were also submitted to principal component analysis. A satisfactory separation between the two species was obtained.