Einkorn Farro is also called Piccolo Farro. Its spike aristata is distichous, has a diploid genome that is it has the lowest number of AA chromosomes (2n = 14) in the nucleus of its cells and, among the species belonging to the genus Triticum, the first to be domesticated by man and constituted for millennia the main crop in a region referred to as the Fertile Crescent.
In fact, the first crops in the Middle East date back to 8000-7500 BC. and constituted, together with barley, the basic diet for
Its cultivation was greatly reduced in the Bronze Age when the farmers of the Mediterranean basin selected the tetraploid grains starting from Tritucum dicoccum (wild progenitor of the current wheat and emmer wheat), from which they drew a greater quantity of grains. Suitable for arid and poor soils, it adapts well to low temperatures and thanks to its rusticity it is very resistant to fungal diseases. It is of medium-high size, does not like nitrogen fertilizers, has a medium-long vegetative cycle.
Autumn sowing is preferable but spring sowing can also be done by the end of February.
In organic farming are not used additional fertilizations: in particular nitrogen fertilizations are avoided because the monococco does not love them. It remains important to practice rotations and green manure, preferably with legumes, in order to maintain the original degree of fertility. Since it is a very rustic crop, it doesn't need phytosanitary care and even irrigation.
Its density and its height, as well as its strong and widespread root system, block the growth of weeds with which there is no competition with the exclusion of Sorghetta. The variety cultivated in the Veneto territory, the Haermanni, has a long cycle; it is harvested in the first half of July.
The humidity at harvesting, or rather, at the time of ensiling, must be no more than 13% to ensure that molds, abnormal fermentations or colonies of parasites such as weevils, borer, or other cannot develop. The ideal storage environment is certainly the cold room at a temperature of 10 ° C and dry. But it can also be kept well in silos or sacks, as long as it is perfectly clean from dust, flakes and broken husks, and by adding diatomaceous earth.
This species, with exceptional dietary-nutritional and organoleptic characteristics, has recently been rediscovered thanks to to the work of varietal recovery by some farmers in Veneto and Central Italy.
It has the highest protein content of all normally grown wheat, as well as high levels of carotenoids and microelements.
Average Nutritional Values
Total proteins 19,30 %
Ash 2,41 %
Carotenoids 10,40 mg/Kg
Tocopherols (Vit. E) 94,40 mg/Kg
Microelements:
Zinc 50,00 mg/Kg
Iron 41,70 mg/Kg
Manganese 38,00 mg/Kg
Some tests have shown that it can also be taken by subjects with gluten intolerances (excluding celiac subjects).
The supply chains that are emerging around these cereals, nicknamed ancient, are rapidly expanding and are increasingly attracting the attention of an attentive public. The Organic Short Chain Association of ancient cereals was born in Veneto in 2013, consisting of producers, a mill and some organic bakeries, which has already produced and marketed 30 tons of einkorn spelled.
