Upper Valley Seed Savers

Seed Saving Project *

Date/Season: 2016 and ongoing

Crop / Species: Einkorn (Triticum monococcum and Triticum monococcum ssp. monococcum var. sinkajae) Zanduri (Triticum timopheevii (Zhuk.) Zhuk. Subsp. Timopheevii)

Varieties: PI 584654. Monoc Bulk  1-VV, PI 542472. M82-6267, T. sinkajae 

Project Type: Variety Trial followed by Selection and Seed Increase

Project Goals: I am looking for an einkorn that is at least somewhat easier to thresh than the usual einkorn. I have seed from three different sources which I will plant in separate plots. I will plant a trial plot of each in the spring and again in the fall, to see which does better. I think everyone who is interested in einkorn wants one that threshes easily, and I know there have been trials that haven't been very successful. We'll see.

Goal Update February 2019: I will be selecting for winter survival after fall planting and fusarium resistance.

Project coordinator: Ruth Fleishman

Email:    ruthfleishman7 at gmail.com                                                                               Phone:

Other people working on the project and their contact information: Sylvia Smith  

Email: sylvias@speakeasy.net

Project sites description (soil, amendments, aspect…):

Ruth - Heavy soil with pretty high clay, good water retention, organic amendments - compost, rock dust, western slope, windy, full sun

Additional Comments:

See more details and photos below

Project Report:

Triticum monococcum  -  This particular einkorn is maybe a little easier to thresh but I don't think it is enough to make me want to grow it again.

Triticum timopheevii (Zhuk.) Zhuk. Subsp. Timopheevii - This was robust, healthy, and productive with very little signs of fusarium head blight, which is the disease I have the most trouble with. A few heads became stuck in their sheaths as they developed, causing them to be twisted, but most were straight. The heads are broad and thick and turn almost black when ripe. They are not all that easy to dehull. I was disappointed in how tight the glumes were because it is so productive. Maybe it is worth trying some kind of simple mechanical dehuller.  

Triticum sinkajae - As a spring grain, it was rather sparse and spindly. The heads shaped up nicely, a bit broader than T. monococcum. A lot of fusarium. I chose the disease -free heads to replant in the fall. This one is the easiest to thresh. It really is partially free-threshing. It is worth working with more.  Fall planted, it was more robust but there was still a problem with fusarium head blight.

*Format Adapted from Hilltown Seed Saving Network website

1)  PI 542472. M82-6267  Triticum timopheevii (Zhuk.) Zhuk. Subsp. Timopheevii. (Old name - Triticum militinae)  Wild material. Georgia. 1987.  Facultative. Plant height 105. Old name: Triticum militinae. Spike compact, red when immature, black when mature.

Note from Anders - Can be sown in both spring and fall.

(Seed Sources: Anders Borgen, GRIN, and Prairie Garden Seeds)

7/5/16                7/5/16 - T. timopheevii

2)  PI 584654. Monoc Bulk 1-VV  T. monococcom.  Breeding material. Developed in Latium, Italy. Pedigree: WIR 48993/VV 307. 1994. Diploid bulk of equal amounts of seed from 34 F5 lines from cross WIR 48993 (soft-glumed, partially free-threshing, very late) and vV 307 (tenacious-glumed). Bulked population soft-glumed, heads about same time as Italian durum wheat cultivars, and produces markedly larger grains than its parents. Plants about 120cm tall, and greater spike fertility and tillering capacity than WIR 48993. Grain yields analogous to common and durum wheat cultivars in soils of low and medium fertility. Spring. Kernel color: tan. K: 28.6.

Note from Anders - Can be sown in both spring and fall. Partially free-threshing

(Seed sources: Anders Borgen and GRIN)
7/5/16 -  PI 584654  

3)  T. sinskajae

Seed Source: Prairie Garden Seeds (He calls it Blé Dur Arcour)

The name didn't seem to be correct to me (blé dur in French is durum), so I asked Jim Ternier (PGS) where he got his original seed from. Here is his reply:

“...I got my Ble Dur Arcour from Canada’s gene bank which is located in Saskatoon, about an hour west of here. They got it from an European gene bank (Austria perhaps) and it seems to me that the original source of the seed was a gene bank in Turkey. I think I also got T. militinae from Saskatoon also.”

I came across the Austrian gene bank and this page: https://www.genbank.at/en/national-inventory/search-result.html

It used to give the common name as Blé Dur Arcour, but they have removed the name "Blé Dur Arcour" and they are calling it spring einkorn - Triticum sinskajae var. sinskajae.

7/5/16 - T. sinskajae

Spring 2017

30 June - I had planted small squares of each of these three einkorns in the fall to see if they would make it through the winter. Only 4 T. sinskajae overwintered and are heading up and looking robust. I'll get a bit of seed to replant.

August

Fusarium head blight is a problem. I did get some good seed though. Of the three, this is the easiest to thresh.

Spring 2018