Breadmaking quality in tritordeum: The use-possibilities of a new cereal

Tritordeum (XTritordeum Ascherson et Graebner) is the amphiploid derived from the cross between a South American wild barley (Hordeum chilense Roem. et Schulz.) and wheat. Because this amphiploid has shown agronomic characteristics of a new crop, we thought to evaluate the possible uses of this new cereal and its role in Agriculture. For this reason, in the last four years, several lines of tritordeum, along with some lines of durum and bread wheat, and of triticale, have been analyzed for breadmaking quality by the tests commonly used for evaluating quality in cereals. The results have indicated that both hexa- and octoploid tritordeum exhibit quality characteristics similar to those of bread wheat and very different to those of durum wheat. Likewise, a wide range for quality characters has been shown between the tritordeum tested lines. Although any lines analyzed has been improved for quality, the hexaploid tritordeum have exhibited baking properties slightly poorer than those of bread wheat. On this basis, we think that the role of tritordeum in the food industry could be similar to that of bread wheat, although the end-use and potential cultivated-zone are yet to be determined.