This is common wheat.
It grows in big fields. Most wheat in the world is this kind. We use it to make bread. It helps us eat every day. Do you like bread?
This is common wheat.
Most wheat in the world is this kind. It is used to make bread.
This plant can grow in cold places. It grows in many lands. Long ago, it started in West Asia. It spread to Europe and East Asia. Farmers like it because it grows well. Some plants have short stems. This helps them stay standing.
It is a very important crop for us.
Common wheat is a very important crop.
It is also called bread wheat. About 95% of all wheat comes from this kind. It is the most widely planted crop in the world.
This plant is special because of its genes. Genes are parts of a plant that pass traits to babies. Common wheat has six sets of chromosomes. Chromosomes are tiny parts that hold these genes. Four sets come from emmer wheat. Two sets come from a wild grass called goatgrass. This goatgrass helps the wheat stay strong in the cold.
Farmers have worked to change how wheat grows. In the 1960s, a man named Norman Borlaug helped. He used wheat from Japan to make shorter stems. Short stems are better for modern farms. If stems are too tall, they might fall over. This is called lodging. Short stems also help with new machines. Some wheat has very tight heads. We call these compact wheats.
Their parts are packed very close together.
Common wheat is a very important crop for people.
It is also known as bread wheat. This plant is the most widely planted crop in the world. About 95% of all wheat produced is this specific species. It also earns the most money of all cereal crops. Many other plants once made bread, but this wheat is now the main choice.
This wheat has a very special way it was made. It is an allohexaploid, which means it has six sets of chromosomes. Chromosomes are tiny parts that hold a plant's instructions. Four of these sets came from emmer wheat. The other two sets came from a wild grass called Aegilops tauschii. This wild goatgrass helps the wheat survive in cold places. This mix allows it to grow in many temperate regions.
Humans have grown this wheat for a very long time. It was first domesticated in West Asia during the early Holocene. From there, it spread to North Africa, Europe, and East Asia. Roman burial sites show naked wheats from 100 BCE to 300 CE. Wheat reached North America with Spanish missions in the 16th century. Later, North America became a big exporter in the 1870s. During World War I, grain production in Kansas even doubled.
Scientists and farmers have changed how wheat grows. In the 1960s, Norman Borlaug helped change modern wheat. He used Norin 10 wheat from Japan to add dwarfing genes. These genes make the stems of the plant much shorter. Short stems are helpful when farmers use chemical fertilizers. If stems grow too tall, they might fall over. This falling over is called lodging. Short stems also make it easier to use harvesting machines.
There are also other types of wheat that are similar. Some have very tight heads, which are called compact wheats. One type is called club wheat, and another is found in India. These plants have shorter segments in their stalks. This makes the small parts of the wheat pack closer together. Some people call these compact wheats subspecies of common wheat. They are all part of the same big family of plants.
Common wheat, scientifically known as *Triticum aestivum*, is a vital cultivated species. It is frequently called bread wheat due to its widespread use. This plant is the most widely planted crop by land area. As of 2009, it held that title among all crops. It is also the cereal with the highest monetary yield. This means it generates more economic value than other grains.
The biology of bread wheat is quite complex. It is an allohexaploid organism. This term means it contains six sets of chromosomes. These chromosomes come from different parent species. Four sets of these chromosomes originated from emmer wheat, or *Triticum turgidum*. The remaining two sets came from a wild diploid goatgrass called *Aegilops tauschii*.
This genetic history provides specific advantages for the plant. Emmer wheat itself was formed through an earlier event. This was a tetraploidy between two different diploids. Those parents were wild einkorn and *Aegilops speltoides*. The contribution from the wild goatgrass is especially important. It gives bread wheat greater cold hardiness. Because of this, it can grow in temperate regions worldwide.
Humans have shaped the history of this wheat for millennia. It was first domesticated in West Asia during the early Holocene. It eventually spread to North Africa, Europe, and East Asia. Archaeologists have found naked wheats in Roman burial sites. These sites date from 100 BCE to 300 CE. In the 16th century, Spanish missions brought wheat to North America. By the 1870s, the colonization of the prairies made North America a major exporter.
Global events have also shifted wheat production. During World War I, grain exports from Russia stopped. This caused grain production in Kansas to double. Today, bread wheat is well adapted to modern industrial baking. It has displaced many other species once used for bread. These include various types of barley and rye. This shift is particularly noticeable in Europe.
Modern plant breeding has significantly changed the plant's structure. In the 1960s, Norman Borlaug introduced specific dwarfing genes. He sourced these from Norin 10 cultivars grown in Japan. These are known as *RHt* genes. They work by reducing a plant's sensitivity to gibberellic acid. This is a hormone that normally lengthens plant cells. The resulting short stems are very important for farmers.
Short stems prevent a problem called lodging. Lodging occurs when stems collapse under their own weight. This happens if high levels of chemical fertilizers are used. Without these genes, the stems would grow too tall and fall. Short stems also ensure that plant heights are even. This uniformity is necessary for modern harvesting techniques.
There are also closely related compact wheats. These include club wheat, or *Triticum compactum*, and a type found in India. These varieties have a much more compact ear. This is caused by shorter rachis segments. These segments cause the spikelets to pack closer together. Many scientists classify these compact wheats as subspecies. For example, they may be called *Triticum aestivum* subsp. *compactum*.
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