Wheat

Wheat is a tall grass.

It has many stems. Each plant has long leaves. At the top is a flower head. This head holds many seeds. The seeds turn golden as they grow.

People grow wheat in big fields. They use the seeds to make food. We eat wheat in bread.

It is a very important food for the world.

Wheat is a tall, strong grass.

It grows in many different kinds. Some are called spelt or durum. Most wheat grows in large fields.

In 2021, people grew 771 million tonnes of it. This makes wheat a very big part of our food. It is a main source of protein for people. Wheat also has gluten. Gluten is a protein that helps food stay together. Some people cannot eat gluten because it makes them sick.

People have grown wheat for a long time. They first farmed it in the Fertile Crescent. This happened a very long time ago.

Early farmers used stone tools to harvest it. They used the seeds to make bread and porridge. They also used the straw from the plant. Straw can be used for fuel or for roofs. Wheat roots can grow very deep in the soil. They can go down as far as two metres. This helps the plant stay alive during dry times.

Wheat is a stout, tall grass that helps feed much of the world.

It belongs to a group of grasses called Triticum. People grow many different kinds, like spelt, durum, and emmer. Most people eat common wheat, which is known as T. aestivum. This plant is a major source of carbohydrates and vegetable protein. It contains about 13% protein, which is high for a cereal.

Some people must be careful with wheat because of gluten. Gluten is a protein that can cause health issues for some.

Growing wheat involves many interesting steps in nature. The plant has a jointed, hollow stem that looks like straw. At the very top, a flower head grows. This head can hold between 20 and 100 flowers. These flowers use the wind to pollinate each other.

Each fertilized flower grows into a single grain. These grains ripen until they turn a beautiful golden yellow. When the grains are ready, the head is called an ear. The roots are also very important for the plant. They can grow as deep as 2 metres into the soil.

Humans have a very long history with this grass. People first began to farm wheat in the Fertile Crescent. This happened a long time ago, around 9600 BC.

Before farming, hunter-gatherers collected wild wheat for thousands of years. They eventually chose plants with larger grains to grow. This helped create domestic versions that stay attached to the ear. These new plants could not survive in the wild without humans. This change made it much easier for people to gather food.

Wheat is now one of the most important crops on Earth. In 2021, the world produced 771 million tonnes of wheat.

This makes it the second most-produced cereal after maize. Wheat is grown on 220.7 million hectares of land.

That is a huge amount of space across the globe. The trade of wheat is even larger than all other crops combined. Since 1960, the amount of grain produced has tripled. Demand for wheat stays high because the food industry loves gluten.

Wheat has traveled to almost every part of the world. It spread from West Asia to places like Egypt and Greece. By 4000 BC, it reached the British Isles and Scandinavia. In the 1800s, wheat production in the United States grew very fast. This helped lower prices for people everywhere. Wheat is also used for more than just eating. The straw from the plant can be used for fuel.

People even use it to make roofs or wicker items.

Wheat is a group of wild and domesticated grasses from the genus Triticum. It is a vital cereal crop grown for its edible grains. These grains serve as a staple food for people all over the world.

Many different species and hybrids exist, such as spelt, durum, emmer, einkorn, and Khorasan. Common wheat, known scientifically as Triticum aestivum, is the most widely grown variety. Wheat is a massive part of the global food system. It is a primary source of carbohydrates and vegetable proteins.

The biology of a wheat plant is quite complex. It is a stout grass with a jointed, hollow stem that forms straw. At the top of the stem, a flower head grows containing 20 to 100 flowers. These flowers are wind-pollinated, meaning over 99% of pollination happens through self-pollination.

Each fertilized flower becomes a grain, botanically called a caryopsis. As these grains ripen, they turn a golden yellow color. The entire head of grain is referred to as an ear. The plant also uses a special leaf called a flag leaf. This leaf has a high photosynthetic rate to provide energy to the developing ear.

Wheat plants have developed unique ways to survive in different environments. Their roots are among the deepest of all arable crops, reaching down to 2 metres.

Some varieties produce awns, which are long bristles on the grain head. While producing awns costs the plant more energy, they photosynthesize more efficiently in hot, dry areas. This makes awned varieties very useful in drought-prone countries. Some plants also store energy in their stems as fructans. This helps the plant survive during periods of disease or drought. These biological traits allow wheat to adapt to many different climates.

The history of wheat begins in the Fertile Crescent. Archaeological records suggest cultivation began there around 9600 BC.

Before farming, hunter-gatherers harvested wild wheats for thousands of years. They likely began domesticating wheat by selecting plants with larger grains. In wild wheat, the head shatters easily to spread seeds. In domesticated wheat, a toughened structure called a rachis keeps the grains attached to the ear. This makes harvesting much easier for humans. However, it also means these domesticated strains cannot survive in the wild without human help.

Different types of wheat emerged through different evolutionary paths. Einkorn is a diploid plant, meaning it has two sets of chromosomes. Emmer wheat is a tetraploid, meaning it has four sets of chromosomes.

Emmer actually formed through natural hybridization between two different wild grasses. Bread wheat is even more complex, known as a hexaploid because it has six sets of chromosomes. This happened when wild emmer hybridized with another grass called Ae. tauschii. This complex genetic history allowed wheat to become a highly productive crop. These changes in DNA helped create the varieties we use today.

Wheat is a massive part of global agriculture and trade. In 2021, the world produced 771 million tonnes of wheat.

This makes it the second most-produced cereal, following only maize. Wheat is grown on a larger area of land than any other food crop. In 2021, this area covered 220.7 million hectares. The value of wheat is also seen in global markets. World trade in wheat is actually greater than the trade of all other crops combined. Since 1960, the production of wheat and other grains has tripled.

Beyond food, wheat has many connections to other industries and needs. The straw from the plant has been used for fuel and wicker-making. In the past, it was even used for wattle and daub construction or roofing.

The protein in wheat, called gluten, is very useful to the food industry. However, gluten can cause health issues for some people. It can trigger conditions like coeliac disease or gluten ataxia. Despite these sensitivities, the demand for wheat continues to grow globally. Its ability to provide protein and energy makes it essential to human nutrition.